The Gathering Storm
by rogermein
Summary: This is a prequel leading up to the events of KOTOR. It follows Revan on a mission to uncover the mystery of missing Jedi. What Revan discovers will act as a catalyst to future events as he realizes powerful forces seek to undo the Jedi and Republic.
1. Chapter 1 The Arrival

_Author's Notes:_

_Usual disclaimers - I do not own any characters in the Star Wars Universe or KOTOR. Any characters other than Revan and Vandar are thought up by me. This story is based on events before KOTOR following a male Revan. I loosely tie the timeline to the one used in Wookipedia and may reference events there from time to time. If I have violated any of this canon I apologize in advance. I write purely for my own amusement. So if there are any criticisms please keep it focused on story quality and not on canon. Constructive feedback appreciated._

_

* * *

_

_"Him? Yes I know of him. The problem is _

_no-one seems to know his real name since_

_everyone calls him something different. Though _

_I've heard people who know him well use the name_

_Revan. Some sort of private joke I'm told. He _

_doesn't seem to mind though._

_-attributed to a Jedi padawan  
_

* * *

Dramatis Personae

Revan: Jedi Knight, ambassador to the Jedi Order

Vel'shar: Jedi Master, ambassador to the Jedi Order

Milas: Jedi padawan to Master Vel'shar

Ailene Egala: Primary equerry to Governor Chiel

Governor Larek Chiel: Governor of Chiron

Pavel Soth: Advisor to Govenor Chiel

Tarken Erssavel: Technician, communications specialist

Kessler Daal: Head of Chiron law enforcement

Darth Mreth: Sith Lord Talon Cult

Darth Vreeshar: Sith Warror – subordinate to Darth Mreth

Darth Excrutiatus: Sith Warrior – subordinate to Darth Mreth

Jorek Kreen – Commander of the Blooded

* * *

Prologue (3968 BBY)

_Transmission to Alpha Wing 1_

_Encryption level: Beta_

_Decrypting_

……

_Decryption complete: verification required_

……

_Identification confirmed: _

_Revan_

_Rank: Jedi Knight_

_Status: Standby_

_Source: Jedi Council Dantooine _

_Mission Priority: Vermillion-2_

_++Transmission Started++_

_Revan, this is Master Vandar of the Jedi Council. I am transmitting along with this message coordinates for a planet within the Fenix Star System in the Galactic Core. Oberon II is a remote agricultural outpost with a standing population of 1000,000. Most of that population is concentrated in the capital city of Chiron. Two weeks ago the planet's communications had sent out a distress signal indicating pirate activity on the planet. Colonists have been reported missing and the local security forces have been listed as MIA. We had sent two members of our order to deal with this disturbance a week before: Master Vel'shar and his apprentice Milas. No word has been sent about their status every since touching down on the planet's surface and communications with the planet itself has been cut off. The Jedi council has determined that you should investigate this mystery and report any findings regarding their disappearance. We have sent a message to the planet's surface foretelling your arrival, but have not received any response. Expect hostile activity as soon as you set foot on the surface. The Force be with you Revan. Vandar out._

_++End Transmission++_

* * *

Equerry Ailene stood at the docking bay 41 at Sulcher's pass nervously biting her lip. It had been almost 10 minutes since the arrival of the Jedi ambassador was supposed to arrive and this drawn out affair was not helping her nerves. She scanned her datapad again to determine the nature of the person's arrival.

"_Of all the assignments to land_…"

She had not been present when the previous two Jedi had arrived to 'assist' the planet but she had a pretty good feeling this assignment wasn't something she wanted. Everyone had been relieved when the Jedi order had sent two of their members to help with the pirate activity on Chiron, the primary hub on Oberon II. But since they had set off to find the source of the disturbance, neither Jedi had been seen again. The local guide assigned to their exploration was found a mutilated pile in the isolated steppes of the Ghaine grasslands, ostensibly where the attacks had originated. The reports she had read, had been particularly detailed about the nature of the death. At least hundreds of cuts to the abdomen and chest area. Right arm severed at the elbow joint. Evidence of blaster and flame weapons. Overkill was apparently not a word within the pirate's vocabulary. Of the two Jedi, there was no sign.

Now as far as Ailene was concerned, she was lined up for a particularly nasty death, in the same vein as the previous unlucky guide. She tapped her finger on the dataslate again to determine if she could drudge any useful information that wouldn't make her look like an idiot when meeting with the new arrival.

The datapad indicated that the member of the Jedi order was called 'Revan' and held the rank of Jedi Knight. She tried in vain to find any records regarding his previous activities or exploits that may have been public knowledge in the Galactic core but surprisingly nothing was in evidence. The only relevant data was the gender and appearance of this individual.

"Human Male: Dark hair, brown eyes, pale white skin, 5-10" muttered Ailene. That described about half of the population in this world. She glanced down at the age, which was marked as 'unknown'.

"_Why do they even bother with a report?"_

A shuddering noise caught her ear and Ailene looked up to see the shadow of a craft descending from the sky.

"'Alpha Wing 1' identified" came a voice behind her. Ailene turned back to see the docking master nodding in her direction.

"Primary descent initated. Beginning landing sequence".

She looked back up to observe the scene unfolding before her. The starship was an elegant craft resembling a bird of prey. Its snout was elongated and hooked like a predator and its hull was sheened in silvery light. Its descent was slow but controlled. Ailene couldn't help admire the ship.

"_It looks a lot fancier than the previous starship to plod through here"_

The ship came to a gentle landing at the hangar bay, its engine growl gradually diminishing. The dockmaster fiddled with the controls of his console and the magnetic clamps around the ships attached. He nodded in satisfaction. "Landing protocol complete. You may disembark". A clicking sound was heard in acknowledgement.

"Well he's all yours" remarked the dockmaster. Ailene nodded her thanks and turned her attention to the hatch which was slowly opening below the belly of the craft. At first she could not see anything beyond its gates, as if a permanent darkness had settled upon the interior. Gradually an outline was faintly visible as a figure slowly detached itself from the purveying darkness. Ailene had to squint to make sure her eyes were not deceiving her. It literally seemed as if this person was made of the same gloom as the interior itself though that could have just been the bad lighting in this hangar.

"_Well might as well take the initiative."_ She thought stepping forward to meet the figure halfway. As he left the last steps of his craft, the platform immediately began retracting back into the ship to close without a sound. Upon proximity to the approaching figure, the first thing she noticed was the heavy cloak the man was wearing. Even in the dull glare of the headlights above her, she registered the color as dark grey as opposed to the dull brown worn by most other members of the Jedi Order. His head was hooded and she could not make out any features which made her uncomfortable.

"_The light"_ she thought "_It's only the light."_

The visitor's gait was calm and his movements did not seem to make any sound on the hard granite floor although his posture was slightly hunched. When Ailene was about 3 feet from him he stopped.

"Greetings ambassador" said Ailene formally. "I am Ailene Egala, primary equerry to the governor of Chiron. He bid me to welcome you on behalf of his office." Ailene put out her hand in greeting. The hooded figure reached out his right hand and put it in a firm grasp. The hand was covered in a gloved gauntlet of unknown material. Ailene noticed markings on them she didn't recognize.

"Greetings equerry" replied the figure. His voice was low and measured. Ailene paused thinking that he had more to say but he simply retracted his hand and made a gesture of 'you first'. She shifted a little, obviously wrong-footed but proceeded to walk in the direction of the exit. "This way sir."

The ambassador followed suite as the equerry walked away, slowing his pace so not to outpace her.

"Thank you for arriving on such short notice. We had received a distorted message relaying your arrival but could not put any reply forthwith. Our local communications array has been damaged and our technician suspects jamming as well as sabotage."

The figure nodded as he moved, but did not reply. As they walked the empty metal corridor, Ailene continued:

"The governor has requested your presence at your earliest convenience to brief you personally on the full situation."

"I will be glad to meet the governor in person". Replied the ambassador.

"We have a transport awaiting outside this hangar. In the meantime if I can get you any refreshments or anything …". Ailene trailed off when she heard a thin sigh emanating from the other ambassador's lips.

"Forgive me equerry, but you do not need to stand at parade attention for me."

"I-I meant no offense. I only wished to make sure standard protocol was followed."

The figure stopped walking and turned towards Ailene.

"I understand. But I find these formalities usually hampers getting to the meat of the matter. I think that's partly my fault too. A moment."

Ailene watched as the figure slowly took his hood and pushed it back. In its place was a patrician face that caught Ailene off guard. His hair was brown and his skin pale and white, that the report had got correct. What caught Ailene off guard the most is how young he actually looked.

"_He cannot be older than me" _

His features were sharp and his skin smooth without blemish, beardless. The hair was cut short, almost cropped in to his skull. He would have been considered handsome but his serious expression stifled that effect. Everything about this person spoke of control and discipline. Ailene swallowed. Following her brief analysis her eyes caught his and it was something that she would remember for the rest of her life. Young he may have looked, but his eyes were incredibly old. Dark pools of brown, almost black, they swallowed everything but gave nothing away. She immediately felt small in his presence. Ailene realized she was afraid although there was nothing menacing in the other person's posture. She had seen the other Jedi during their meeting with the governor and their countenance had been completely different. Perhaps they had been formal and aloof but they had never made her squirm like he did now.

"Allow me to re-introduce myself. I am Revan, Jedi Knight and representative of my order, tasked with helping your world recover from its recent tragedies." He followed this with a bow of his head.

Ailene struggled to keep her composure in the light of this development.

"An honor ambassador."

"Please, just Revan."

"As you will. Please Revan, our transport awaits."

* * *

As the speeder crossed the sandy streets of Chiron towards the governor's office, Revan had asked Ailene to describe the world and their functionality.

"As you know, we are primarily an agricultural world recently colonized, tasked with producing foodstuff for neighboring star systems. Most of our produce is grain and dried foodstuff with some cattle exported offworld as well. We also maintain several major ore refineries across this continent".

"Most of your trade goes to Coruscant I assume?"

"Yes, about 60%. While we are by no means a major supplier, trade from the core world keeps us relatively prosperous." She pursed her lips. "I imagine the sudden cutoff had garnered due attention."

Revan nodded.

"You have questions equerry." His tone suggested he was stating a fact.

"I no-not at all. My primary function is to take you to the governor and answer any questions you might have."

"I am well satisfied at the moment. But please, if we are going to work together, a level of trust needs to be established."

Ailene hesitated. Of course she had dozens of questions for this strange man. Throughout her childhood she had heard the local legends regarding the Jedi Knights. Warriors without peer, tasked with protecting the Republic and ensure its prosperity. Righteous fighters that could bring salvation to the worlds in desperate times while being calming mediators when diplomacy was called for. Of course she had heard of the strange mystical powers these warriors employed. In a galaxy that embraced the scientific despite all its wonders, what the Jedi called the Force could only be classified as something supernatural. Trying to describe it in technical terms was like describing a painting by its base chemical components. But what drew her curiosity the most was the Jedi's signature weapon.

The lightsaber.

She had seen picture of these warriors in glorious battle fighting some savage alien or enemy across a nameless battlefield. Republic propaganda was very good at that. In their hands, the Jedi had wielded swords of pure light, a beacon of righteous power to anyone who saw it. No armor or shield could resist its touch as they sliced into the enemy like so much wet paper. Some said that lightsabres were another part of the Jedi's powers, their will manifested as a beam of energy, so potent were these warriors abilities. Ailene wasn't sure if she believed that part. Energy based weaponry was fairly common, ranging from the hand held blaster to the mighty starship cannons. Still the elegance of the lightsabre's design was something people held in awe and its secrets jealously coveted by outsiders.

Ailene had wanted to ask if she could see his lightsaber, but for some reason, it sounded like an extremely dirty pick up line.

Revan at this point was staring at her with a mildly bemused expression so she had to make some sort of response.

"Y-you're a lot younger than I expected sir."

"You are not the first person to say this to me." Said Revan leaning back on his chair. His gaze turned towards the front where the droid was piloting the vehicle.

"If it makes you feel better I do not know what my exact age is. Maybe I'm older than you think. Then again I have it on fairly good authority that I have not reached the standard age of twenty."

"Oh." Said Ailene. She shuffled in her seat.

"But if I may comment, you are not exactly the picture of a withered crone worrying at her desk that I suspected either."

Ailene didn't know if she should be flattered or insulted.

"In fact" said Revan turning his gaze back to her. "What is a girl less than the age of eighteen doing as the equerry to the governor of a major agricultural world?"

"I-What?"

"You haven't left your teen years is that correct?"

"I'm twenty four standard years of age sir!" Ailene huffed. She knew her face was turning a distinct shade of pink like the local fruit in this region.

"Oh?" Revan raised one of his eyebrows sardonically. "Then why are you stuffing your chest to amplify the appearance of your…maturity?"

"I am not!" Ailene was definitely on the edge of panic now. How did this man know? She was pretty sure Revan had not glanced more than twice in her direction and his eyes never left her face.

"Your 'stuffing' is showing"

Horrified, Ailene glanced down at her chest to see if she had someone humiliated herself in front of the Jedi Knight. She looked frantically to see if anything was amiss but as far as she could tell nothing was out of order. She glared back up at Revan who had adopted a faint smile.

"Forgive me equerry, but I felt the need to lighten the mood."

"I-I…"

"I am sorry, that was unprofessional. Jedi Knights don't get to socialize outside of their order much. What passes for humor may simply be crass to other people."

Ailene got the distinct feeling Revan knew exactly what he was doing. But she did relax a fraction when she realized the other man had made a genuine attempt at levity.

"Sixteen" she whispered. "I'm sixteen".

"I meant it as a compliment." replied Revan. "Only someone with poise, ambition and intellect could pull off your role and you've done a fine job hoodwinking the other staff."

"Thanks…I think."

"I think it's only fair if you ask me another question" Revan continued. They were approaching the main sector of the city now close to the governor's office. Surrounding them was the local bustle of commerce. Many species were in evidence here. Human, Duros, Twi'lek, Bith all going about their lives, haggling for prices on the latest droids on the market, shopping for food… Revan gazed out towards them but Ailene could not tell what he was thinking at that moment.

"If I may comment Revan, I find it odd that the Jedi Order would send only one person after two of their members had gone missing."

"A good observation."

"Maybe you could…put my concerns at ease."

Revan turned back to look at her rubbing at the bridge of his nose. His robes concealed everything on his person and Ailene had yet to see the fabled weapon brandished by one of his kind.

"Well I can think of several explanations. The first one being, the order was concerned about sending any more valuable souls to investigate so they decided to send me as a token gesture and write off this planet entirely."

Ailene reddened at that comment. "You're being flippant sir."

"Yes" said Revan without apology. "But to answer your question more seriously, I suspect it has more to do with the fact that previously, Master Vel'shar was burdened with protecting his apprentice. The Jedi council did not initially see this mission as dangerous as it is now. The amount of resistance encountered was greater than expected and Vel'shar was distracted with combat as well as ensuring his padawan was not killed. It was natural then for the council to send a Jedi Knight with no commitment to training or protecting their young at the same time as this mission."

"I guess that makes sense." admitted Ailene. She continued: "But I can think of another reason why they would send you."

"Oh? Do tell."

"Because you are more capable than either of them."

Revan's gaze betrayed nothing for a moment. He simply looked at her before a tiny smile appeared on his face. For some reason, Ailene felt more comfortable than she had since the stranger had appeared before her.

"I think we'll do just fine together equerry."


	2. Chapter 2 The Meeting

Revan and Ailene were presented with due ceremony to the Governor at his office. Honor guards stood at attention on either side of the immaculate blue carpeted hallway leading to the main office, their weapons held in salute. After the fate of the last pair of Jedi to wander into this district, Ailene didn't think of it as much as an honor as it was a prelude to a very violent death.

Revan had adopted not to hood himself again and Ailene could see a frown crease his features.

_He probably thinks this is as unnecessary as I do._

They were ushered into an oval room with a plush desk and accroutments decorating every wall. Screens flickered lazily displaying the latest stock market data feeds and local news agencies. Papers and dataslates were abundant at the sides of the room. Various occupants stood around chattling idly but grew quiet at the sight of the new arrivals. A Twi'lek was typing something at a workstation left of the main group and only glanced up briefly before resuming her work. Ailene used this chance to step in front of the group behind the desk.

"Governor, honored representatives, may I present Ambassador Revan of the Jedi Order."

Revan stepped forward next to Ailene and bowed to the collective members in front of him.

"An honor."

The first member to speak among the group huddled behind the desk was a Duros dressed the regala of a high ranking official. The markings on his chest declared him the Governor of Chiron and was the only member sitting. He spoke something in his native Durese tongue. By his tones, it was clear the man was impatient.

Ailene knew that this was a trick the Governor used to throw other people off their footing in negotiations. While Governor Larek Chiel was perfectly capable of speaking Galactic standard, he preferred to talk in his own native tongue and let his advisor translate in meetings such as this. It helped keep his own cards on the table so to speak. Ailene wasn't sure if such a trick was effective, but it did seem to obfuscate the wording of many negotiations and contracts to the governor's advantage.

An extremely portly human standing behind the governor spoke up.

"Greetings ambassador – I am Pavel Soth, advisor to his eminence. The governor bids you welcome to the city and - " He was silenced suddenly by Revan's upraised hand.

"Thank you sir, I understood his meaning well enough."

To everyone's surprise in the room, Revan started talking in the Duros' own language.

"Greeting Governor, I know everyone's time is precious so I will be succinct. The scope of your predicament has been laid before me and I am here to investigate the source of these deaths. Any aid you can provide would be appreciated. Details for example."

Ailene was impressed. In the last meeting with the two Jedi, Soth had spent the whole time dictating Chiel's conversation to Galactic Standard albeit in much more diplomatic terms. Chiel was impatient at the best of times, preferring to close deals as quickly as possible and to his advantage. He had also thrown in some insults that Soth had chosen not to disclose about Jedi being "useless preening hagglers with glowsticks shoved up their arses." Governor Chiel was clearly uncomfortable with this change in development. He wringed his hands nervously, a tick he had acquired over the years in office.

"…Very well sir."

"If I may suggest further, since we are on official Republic business, perhaps it would be best to discuss these matters in Galactic standard."

Chiel made an expression that could have passed as a glare if his species had eyebrows.

"As you wish" he muttered in Galactic Standard

"Perhaps you could show me the location where these attacks originated?" asked Revan switching as well.

At the suggestion from Revan, another man stepped forward. His was stooped and dressed in worker fatigues, a receding hairline evident.

"I can do that sir."

He tapped a few buttons on the governor's command console and a holo map appeared on top of the desk.

"This is the topographical layout of the surrounding region." He indicated a glowing icon. "The city proper and Governor's office is situated here."

Revan scanned the holomap rapidly absorbing the most pertinent information.

"This region to the north of the Governor's office" he pointed at a glowing red contact point.

"Aye that is Torrehn's Square. The initial pirate raids occurred here."

"Am I correct in assuming that is the main trading sector of within the entire city?"

The older man nodded. "You would be right sir. Two weeks ago that was the central market area, where most of the open markets were situated." The older man pursed his lips.

Another man, this one bearing the regalia of law enforcement spoke up. "The bastards landed right in the middle of the damn square in broad daylight, firing indiscriminately. Killed 140 people on the first day."

"Did they take anything? Foodstock, equipment, hostages?"

"Nothing major sir, their intent was clearly to cause as much mayhem as possible."

Revan at walked up closer to the holomap. He assumed a thoughtful posture.

"Indiscriminate slaughter sounds dubious at best, even terrorists would have made demands by now. Has anything been forthcoming?"

The older man shook his head irritably. "No, all we have had to show for our efforts in the last few weeks are reports of raids across the northern district. Our officers have sighted speeders coming in every few days and harassing them. It's like they're taunting us."

At this Chiel rose to his feet.

"And that is why we commissioned the Jedi Council to deal with this-this irritance! But your predecessors have been more than useless. They didn't even manage to kill any of the filth terrorizing our streets!"

As expressionless as his species were, he was doing a pretty good job of looking like a constipated frog.

Revan pointedly ignored this outburst and addressed the man who was still manning the hololith.

"Where did Master Vel'shar and his apprentice go after they reached planetside?"

"Up north even more sir, to the rural area." He indicated a wide area on the hololith with no discernable landmarks.

"It looks like only grasslands in that area."

"That it is sir. But the local law enforcements that engaged the raiders reported that every time they disengaged, they would fall back in a northern direction. Master Vel'shar thought it prudent to investigate further in that area."

"And that is where they disappeared and have not been heard from since." Revan stated flatly.

"Yes sir. Well we found their guide…but he was a bloody mess."

Ailene forced down an unvoluntary shudder.

"And since then? Have the raiders harassed the city after their disappearance?"

"Not directly sir, since we doubled the rotation and put everyone on high alert, they've restricted their activity to isolated raids on transports leaving the city. Only the most lightly protected conveys are attacked."

Revan nodded but did not reply. Ailene noticed he was fingering some sort of control device in his hand as he paced around the desk. He was looking at it periodically as if expecting some sort of message any time soon. Finally he stopped walking and addressed the officer again.

"Are there any images captured of the assailants? Victims?"

"Victims we have plenty sir. As for the assailants, reports say they were dressed in dull red armor and were masked. Number dispositions around 10-15 at any given raid …but taking pictures in the middle of a pitched firefight seems suicidal at best sir."

The Jedi smiled indulgingly at his words. "Victims bodies will suffice for now then."

The officer stepped forward to show him several dataslates. Ailene had already seen the contents and shuddered at the memory. _These bastards didn't have the common decency to let a corpse lie where they fell_

Revan observed the images without expression.

"Stabbing seems to be their preferred method of execution. As opposed to say…a clean blaster shot. My officers say they saw groups of these savages run down bystanders on their speeders, just to jump down and stab them viciously for several seconds before finding some other poor sod to abuse."

Chiel interrupted Revan's musings again with a sharp impatient sigh. "Now that you are up to date on the particulars what do you plan to do? I cannot have these … inconveniences constantly filling up my timetable. Every minute we stand here idly chattering like magpies is credits being flushed down the maintenance shaft!"

At this Revan turned abruptly to face the governor face to face. He adopted a glare then that was perhaps one of the most chilling things Ailene had seen. His eyes looked like two black pits of death and his sharp features heightened the level of intimidation. The governor jerked back suddenly as if he had seen a particular nasty apparition.

Revan's voice was low and measured when he spoke but the threat behind his words permeated the room like lethal gas.

"These 'incoveniences' governor have killed hundreds of your civilians, people who are under your protection. I would be less concerned about the financial status of your city and more worried about the final death toll before this crisis is over." Revan's glare made it clear who he would want to string up before this whole ordeal was done with.

No-one in the room dared to speak back in response to the intimidating presence. Ailene realized she was holding her breath and had to take quick quiet gasps of air so not to disturb the scene. Belatedly she remembered also to make a quick check that she hadn't soiled herself.

"As to what I plan to do" continued Revan. "I plan to uncover the source of these raiders and bring swift justice to their misbegotten hides. Let your law enforcements show mercy to these bastards if there are any left after I am done with them."

The Jedi turned to the two useful members of the meeting so far.

"Gentlemen, if you would allow it I would ask for your assistance in the next few hours as I prepare the resources I need for this expedition."

The two men nodded somewhat nervously.

"It would be an honor ambassador" said the officer.

"Thank you" said Revan formally. "My apologies I have not asked for your names."

"Kessler Daal Head of Chiron law enforcement sir" said the officer sketching a sharp salute.

"Tarken Erssavel, resident head engineer" said the older man giving a shallow bow.

Revan turned to the equerry who at this point was trying to become invisible.

"Ailene, if it is okay with you, could you help me with the upcoming preparations?"

"Of course" said Ailene _As long as it doesn't lead to my sudden unpleasant demise_

Ailene briefly thought about asking the governor for permission, but the Duros was too busy looking like fully whipped child. His gaze didn't move from his desk and posture was hunched and defeated.

Revan gestured for Ailene to lead the way and all four members left the governor's office.

* * *

In the hours since the meeting in the governor's office, Revan had walked around the compound talking with various people to acquire equipment. He had requisitioned another speeder as well as food supplies for his expedition. At one point Lieutenant Daal had asked Revan who he intended to bring with him.

"I can give you a detachment of local officers to follow you. Might help out since the last bunch of Jedi to meander out of the city didn't do anything constructive, begging your pardon sir."

"Thank you but no. I would be honored though if Ailene would agree to accompany me on this little jaunt."

Ailene's heart had seized up at those words. Flashbacks to the horribly mutilated corpse from the images flared back. _Not for all the credits in the Republic! _

In truth she really couldn't say no. As the governor's equerry she had been more or less told to help the Jedi ambassador in whatever capacity he needed. Although she thought following him on suicidal missions was beyond the parameters of those orders. It was either go to a likely horrifying death or be reprimanded or possibly fired and blacklisted for refusing to follow the governor's orders. At that moment she wasn't sure which outcome was more appealing.

"I-I would be happy to help" Ailene muttered in tones that suggested the exact opposite.

"Are you sure sir?" Asked Kessler dubiously. "No offense intended to the equerry but she looks like she doesn't even know which end of a blaster to hold on to."

"I understand your concern Lieutenant but it is not force of arms that I need, but a stalwart soul who is familiar with the surrounding terrain and who I can count on." Revan smiled at Ailene. "And I've believe we make a fairly good team, wouldn't you agree?"

Ailene was sure she had no idea what Revan was talking about as the only thing they had done together was ride a speeder to the governor's office with Revan making Ailene wish she was in another sector of the galaxy.

Revan saw the expression on Ailene's face and turned to face her again.

"I understand your concern. The last person to follow a Jedi on their expedition ended up a bloody smear and afterthought in a forsaken part of this planet. But I will say this to you now as a Knight of the Republic and as a person of honor." Ailene and Kessler both started in surprise as Revan knelt before the equerry.

"I swear on my life and by the Force itself that no harm will befall you while you travel with me and I draw breath on this expedition."

Ailene honestly didn't know what to say. It wasn't every day that a Jedi Knight knelt before you and declared a holy oath to defend you. At that moment she felt a little like a damsel in one of those childhood stories. Revan obviously knew that too because he was looking at her expectantly to say something.

_Well the loophole to that oath would obviously be if you died, you're under no obligation to protect me._

Eventually Ailene managed to gather her wits enough to say. "Then I can't imagine how I can say no." She smiled tremulously as Revan rose to his feet again.

"Well that was suitably dramatic." Remarked Kessler.

"I thought so too." Said Revan with a ghost of a smile.


	3. Chapter 3 Preparations

Before Revan and Ailene left, he spoke to Tarken, who was waiting at the causeway leading to the main transport bay.

"Get those bastards for us sir" said Tarken, as he shook Revan's hand.

"You know how to reach us" said Revan nodding to his communications bead.

"First sign of trouble, I'll let you know." The older man hesitated before continuing. "A few years ago, we had a raid similar to this one. These ones actually wanted our livestock." His hands started to shake.

"My…son was caught in the crossfire. Died instantly apparently"

Revan didn't reply but gestured slightly for the man to continue.

"I…I guess I'm telling you this for incentive. Not that you really need any."

Revan inclined his head. "I understand. For what it's worth Master Vel'shar was also a close friend of mine. If he has been killed I mean to avenge his death a hundredfold."

Tarken gave a tired smile. "I guess I can't ask for more than that."

He turned away and began to hobble back into the building.

As Revan and Ailene left for their vehicle she asked.

"How did you know Master Vel'shar? Did you and him go on the same missions in the past?"

"Actually" said Revan without breaking stride. "I've never met the man. Hadn't even heard his name before this mission started."

Ailene's face wrinkled in confusion.

"Then why…?"

"Empathy. It doesn't hurt to be nice once in a while, wouldn't you agree?" smiled Revan

The words left Ailene far from convinced. She tried a different tact.

"I thought we'd have established a bit of trust by now."

Revan finally stopped walking and looked at Ailene directly.

"I suppose that's fair." He gestured vaguely in the direction of the governor's office. "In truth it was the same reason why I swore that oath in front of Kessler. I wanted them to hear something. "

"You did that for Kessler's sake and not mine?" Suddenly Ailene didn't feel so special anymore. "Why?"

"People talk. They will talk. It is one of the constants in this galaxy".

"I hardly think they're the type of sorts for gossip sir. Especially personal things like that."

"You never know." Revan remarked cryptically. He resumed walking.

"So where are we going?" asked Ailene as she hurried to follow Revan's swift pace towards their prepped vehicle.

"Here." Revan pointed on the dataslate screen he was holding. Ailene craned her neck to look at where he was pointing on the image.

She frowned in puzzlement when she realized he was pointing to the mountain range.

"Sir that's to the south of this city."

"It is" said Revan resuming his brisk pace.

"But that's in the opposite direction of where the raiders are assumed to originate."

"Tell me what you see on the mountain range."

Ailene looked harder at the slate until she saw what he was referring to. A grey icon was blinking at the upper side of the mountain range.

"That's a mining facility in the Scepter mountains." She glanced down at the information regarding that facility. "Records indicate that the facility suffered a thermo explosion some years ago and was abandoned due to disrepair and insufficient funding."

"Abandoned" repeated Revan. "A viable hideout location wouldn't you say?"

At this point they had reached the speeder. It was a different vehicle than the one they had arrived on with a rusty pilot droid at the wheel. The supplies requisitioned by Revan were packed at the back seats. Revan had taken out that out device that Ailene had seen him palm during the meeting. He glanced at it idly before putting it back in the folds of his cloak.

The engine growled in annoyance as Revan and Ailene put their added weight into the remaining seats.

"But the fact remains that all attacks originated from the North" protested Ailene.

"You saw what I saw on the holo map" said Revan. "Everything north of the city is grassland and uninhabited. The sweeper droids deployed by the law enforcement has found no indication of any suspicious activity in that region." Revan took the dataslate and showed it to the droid. "Take us to these coordinates"

"Confirmed" The droid pushed the accelerator and the speeder began to lurch into motion.

"Furthermore" said Revan when they were in motion "The terrain there is flat and undefensible. Any prolonged battle of attrition would not go the raiders way."

"What the raiders need is a fortified position they can fall back to. This mining facility was as good a location as any. If they had to double back after retreating to the grasslands, it would seem to be a small price to pay."

Ailene was about the say something else before Revan held up a hand to forestall any further questions. She looked on curiously as he saw him reach under his seat fishing for something. When he brought his hand back up Ailene could see a tiny object in his grip.

"What's that?"

"A tracker" replied Revan matter-of-factly. He made a fist crushing the device into several pieces.

Ailene was shocked. A dozen possibilities were forming in her head.

"A tracker…placed by the raiders?"

"Quite possibly. That would explain how they could anticipate the comings of various transports."

"But that would mean that they have access to our manifest!"

"More likely" said Revan grimly "Is they have an inside man."

The speeder's engine grew louder as it accelerated away from the city.

* * *

"You looked depressed."

Ailene was biting her lip and looking down at her boots. At the words she looked up dully at Revan.

"Just thinking" she muttered

"About how I said I swore the oath for Kessler's benefit and not yours?" Revan expression was bemused. "You were the recipient of the oath. Which means you get the perks. I won't go cutting a path of death for his sake."

"How reassuring" she replied sarcastically.

"If it makes you feel any better I did want to bring you along." Ailene was surprised to hear the sincerity in his voice. However she was still doubtful.

"Why did you do that? Like Kessler said, I'm not handy in a firefight." She waved her hand around. "While I do know the surrounding area, it's not like I've been to this mining facility."

"Because out of all the people I've met on this planet. You're the only person I trust."

That did take Ailene back. "...because I'm the equerry to the governor?" she asked with a trace of irony.

Revan gave a short bark of laughter. "There is that. But I can trust your intentions. The governor wants to make sure his lucrative deals stay safe. He couldn't even be bothered with the pretense of civilian welfare." That drew a sneer from Revan before he continued. "Tarken and Kessler ostensibly want revenge but that is a fickle characteristic at the best of times. Hate and grudges are unpredictable elements. However, you want to serve the city."

Ailene laughed bitterly at that. "Actually sir, I was pretty much told to follow your orders or get fired."

"That's exactly my point" said Revan without missing a beat. "You're best interests lie in helping me succeed in this mission. In whatever capacity necessary. I figured an individual like that would be much more useful with me than sitting behind a desk."

He gestured dramatically with his hands. "And whose to say you won't get a promotion after I regale the governor and his stooges about how you heroically helped me bring down these pirate scum. Is that good enough incentive for you now?"

Ailene actually hadn't thought of it that way. Probably because it involved somehow miraculously surviving this whole ordeal with all her body parts.

A period of silence followed. Ailene saw Revan put his head down, eyes closed as though to sleep, or meditate…or whatever these strange people did to pass the time.

"You never told me how you did it." Said Ailene suddenly.

"Hmm?" Revan open his eyelids halfway.

"How you knew I was…packing so to speak." Ailene fidgeted uncomfortably as she said the words. Thankfully the only people that heard them was the man who had outed her and a droid that would be memory scrubbed the moment they returned to the governor's office.

"Aside from the fact that you don't look a day over eighteen?" asked Revan wryly

"You must have seen something else." Insisted Ailene.

"Your sleeves and trousers" Revan said indicating Ailene's uniform. "are rolled up on either side because the uniform was supposed to worn for someone at least two inches taller than you but apparently that was the smallest size. You're also wearing boots with extra thick soles to cover the fact that you haven't reached your full height yet. Since your overcoat is meant to worn buttoned and can't be tucked in or rolled up without looking ridiculous you had to find some way to pad out the uniform. What you did seemed like the most logical solution."

"I…I could just be a particularly short woman."

"You could" said Revan. "But you are also wearing makeup that accentuates your cheekbones and gauntness, where the only good reason to do that is to make your face look older. These things tend to add up."

Ailene didn't know what to say after that. It all seemed so absurd to her that Revan had deduced all this.

"You could have just said I looked young."

"I like my explanation better." smiled Revan.


	4. Chapter 4 Introspections

_I may not like Revan, but even I have to admit_

_he has a penchant for getting the job done._

_You don't want to cross him...And you definitely_

_don't want to cross his first Master..._

_-attributed to Master Vrook_

It was a few hours later when Revan ordered the droid to halt. They were still at least 2 kilometres away from the base of the mountain. Revan told the droid to put their speeder around some foliage and remain there.

At Ailene's inquiring gaze, Revan said

"The chances of detection are significantly higher now that we are near our destination." He gestured to the mountain top. "Sensor sweeps could pick us up even without trackers. Walking on foot is the safest course of action at this point."

With that the pair trudged towards the general direction to the base of the mountain, with Revan taking most of the supplies on his back. By the time they had reached the mountain base, the sun had almost completely set. The surrounding area had taken on a gloomy ambience. Revan unslung the sacks he was carrying and began rummaging through its contents.

"We'll camp here for the night." said Revan.

Ailene looked up at the mountainside. The steep incline at the base was not something that appealed to her. No noticeable pathway or elevator system was in evidence.

"How do we get up to the facility?"

"In better days, they had a landing pad for that sort thing." Revan remarked as he unpacked some dried rations and a water boiler.

"Since we are entering the area under the suspicion of hostile activity, we cannot risk any aircraft or electronic equipment coming under detection. So we do this the old fashioned way. We climb."

Ailene's heart sank. "I'm not much of an athlete."

"Don't worry." said Revan. "I'll be doing most of the climbing. You can just hang in your harness like a sack of potatoes." He looked from his ministrations over the cooking supplies. "Just don't scream during the hike up."

Ailene shrugged. "No promises sir."

Revan set a pot of water to boil over an electric generator. From another sack he produced a small lamp. "This is about the most light we can risk" said Revan, switching the appliance to a soft blue glow. After that he sat back on a small rock on the grass. Ailene found a grassy patch and did the same.

Both of them stared at the gently glowing lamp for some time. The night was turning cool and a soft breeze had churned up. Ailene felt relaxed at that moment, almost calm, serene. It belatedly occurred to her that she hadn't felt so relaxed in some time. Back in the city she was always running around gathering dictation or filling out manifest reports. It had been a hectic, often thankless job. She didn't realize until now how much she missed being outdoors, carefree like a little child.

_I think I'm actually enjoying this little escapade after all_

Glancing up she could see the stars coming out. Chiron's soft blue moon shone in the night like a glowing beacon for travelers in a sea of stars. The constellations shined out, each star marking a civilization as part of the Republic under the ever vigilante and watchful eyes of the Jedi Knights. The thought reassured her. Even in a galaxy where nothing was certain and conflict was rife, people could always rely on the Jedi to be their protectors and saviors. To stand firm in a sea of darkness, their shining purity an example for all to live by.

_The galaxy would never fall as long as we have champions like that to protect us. And here I am, sitting next to one of them now. _

Ailene glanced back up to where Revan sat. She was still amazed at the vast difference between him and the other Jedi. As much as she respected their order, Master Vel'Shar and his apprentice had been distance and unapproachable with everyone they met. Some guards had muttered sourly that Jedi must keep their lightsaber's up their asses before they took it out in battle. Ailene couldn't argue with that. They stood like statues and acted only slightly more animated than a discarded droid.

Shaking herself from her reverie, she returned her focus to Revan. She couldn't see him through his hood, but to Ailene he seemed melancholy…almost sad. She struggled to say something meaningful.

"It must be a great honor to be part of your order. What's it like exactly?"

Revan didn't reply immediately. He had titled his head to the side slightly as if searching for the correct words.

"I think…it has to be about the same as any other path in life really. Each day brings new challenges and we deal with them as we must. You live, experience what there is in the galaxy and hope to make a difference before the end."

The water had started boiling so Ailene dumped the rations in the pot.

"But surely it's more exciting than that. You travel the stars fighting pirates, righting wrongs. Everyone in the public holds your order in the highest esteem."

"That is the romantic version of it" remarked Revan. "The truth I suspect is that people of all species need heroes to look up to…which is why we are glorified all across the galaxy. The republic propaganda machine is very good at that. It gives people hope…something to live for."

Ailene was surprised by these words. "Don't you feel honored to be among a select few chosen to be in the order? You are the best that the Republic has to offer aren't you?"

"You want to put us on a pedestal. That somehow being a Jedi elevates us in some fashion"

"Well, you can do things other people can't…"

"…Just as we have are limitations. Do you think we maintain our own ships? All our equipment? That the glorious Jedi temple on Coruscant was built by us willing it into existence?" He stirred the contents of the pot slowly. Ailene had creeped forward to get a better look at the contents and took a sniff. Despite the fact that these were reconstituted rations, it didn't smell half bad.

"No, we need the people in the Republic as much as they need us. Without the engineers and scientists, we could not traverse the void between worlds to bring aid. Without scholars, all the knowledge possessed in our great libraries would be forever lost."

Ailene refused to believe that the Jedi were as ordinary as Revan had just stated. She certainly didn't think someone as unusual as Revan thought that of himself.

"You can't really believe your kind are just like…every other living soul out there, surely?"

"Many of my order don't." admitted Revan. "They like to think that walking the path of the Jedi brings a sense of enlightenment. That they ascend to a higher state of being in some fashion."

He turned slowly to face her. Since Ailene couldn't see his face, she felt like she was in some sort of confession.

"They mistake arrogance, aloofness and overconfidence for virtues. That somehow, only they can make the galaxy a better place. It is a trait I see too commonly now in the people I serve with…and that will only bring damnation...just as it has in the past."

"You…you really believe that?" The perfect fantasy she had created of the jedi knights was slowly crumbling down before her.

Revan stopped stirring the pot and began to divide the contents into a couple of bowls.

"I have had good counsel before….It allowed me to see things with a better sense of perspective."

Ailene sensed his words were a good way to get a better picture of the Jedi Order.

"Good counsel…so the Master who taught you then wasn't that bad right?"

"I wasn't referring to my Master" said Revan quietly.

"Oh…" she trailed off. "Still you must have had a good mentor in the order?" Her tone was hopeful.

"Some would argue I had many mentors." He handed her a steaming bowl of the rations.

"Is that normal?" Ailene dug into her food with gusto. She didn't realize how hungry she was until now.

"All children in the order are trained by a master in the general ways of the Force before being selected by others as padawans." Revans face twisted. "I suspect they thought me an unusual case." He looked down at his own bowl but did not touch the contents.

"To answer your question, various Masters showed an interest in me and put me through different…trials." Revan looked off at the distance. "There was Vandar…he wasn't a bad sort I suppose, Dorak…Kreia…she was a creepy old witch. Likes to take credit for all my training." He gave a snort to indicate what he thought of that. "Just because you like being enigmatic doesn't give you the right to respect."

"What sorts of things did they make you do?"

"Things to see how attuned I was with the Force. I was somewhat of an anomaly to them and they were surprised at how my abilities manifested."

Ailene wasn't really sure what that meant. She kept eating for a while in silence trying to form another question.

"But the truth is…" Revan said quietly. "I only considered myself as having one Master."

"Really? Who was he…or she?"

"He was the one that found me and inducted me into the Order. He was the one that molded me into the person I am today." His voice was distant now as if re-living some past memory.

Ailene was afraid to press further now. Even asking for this mysterious person's name seemed wrong. It seemed some secrets should be respected. Before she could say something else Revan spoke again.

"You should probably get some rest. We'll be resuming in a few hours."

With that he started picking at his own rations, deep in thought. Ailene finished her serving after a while and took out a bedroll from the sack. After rolling it out and getting in, she lay there for some time looking at the stars and wondering on all the things that Revan said that night. As she felt her eyelids grow heavy she spared one last look at the Jedi. He seemed half a ghost now in the backdrop of moonlight, a mournful specter gazing into the heavens. She drifted off thinking how strange this galaxy truly was.


	5. Chapter 5 First Contact

Ailene woke up to a gentle shaking. She opened her bleary eyes. At first she thought something was wrong because it was still dark.

"Time to go."

She shifted out of her bedroll. "Were we detected?"

"No, but I never planned to leave during first light. Darkness gives us one more element of surprise."

"How are you going to see what you're doing?" She glanced nervously at the mountain again. It seemed like a fortress of jagged rocks and steep unwelcome inclines. Climbing that in almost pitch blackness didn't seem conducive to her long term health. Death by plummeting while screaming seemed like a particularly ignominious way to die.

"Don't worry about that for now. Just take this."

Revan held out a belt harness. At first glance she saw it was meant for someone a lot larger than her.

"Let's go. We'll leave most of the supplies hidden here."

She walked with Revan to the side of the rocks wall.

"Now, put the belt around your back but don't clasp it. Walk behind me and hand me the two ends."

Confused, she did as she was told. Revan took the two ends of the belt. "Closer now, you're going to be hitching a ride on my back."

"You're going to climb AND carry me?" She asked incredulously.

Revan favored her with a slight smile. "This would be over a lot quicker if you didn't second guess everything I said."

He rolled his shoulders, to relax his muscles.

"Trust in me. Remember my oath and you'll have nothing to be afraid of."

Ailene reluctantly moved forward until her front touched Revan's back. He tightened the belt around both of them until Ailene was pressed fully in the folds of his cloak and sealed the clasp. The proximity to him had her feel strange. She'd never dare try this crazy hiking maneuver with another person, but surprisingly, her anxiety was ebbing.

_He smells clean, like flowers_ she thought inanely _or a brisk summer tide_

"Now, put your arms over my head and fold them, like you would when folding them across your chest."

When this was done, he wrapped her hands in a tight knot with some fibre bundles he had carried from the sack. Ailene was effectively bundled up like an invalid infant. Whatever happened now, she had to completely trust that Revan would not somehow botch this whole operation.

"Now before we begin, I must have your word you won't scream. A lot of my movements will be sudden and may bring panic and nausea. But try to stay calm take deep breaths and you'll be fine."

Ailene didn't really like what she was hearing but gave her assent anyways. "Yes sir, I promise"

"Good, if you feel the need to stop, let me know. Otherwise, let's begin."

He paused, looking up the mountain and nodded to himself.

Ailene thought Revan was looking for a handhold at his eye level among the rocks, but the sudden lurching sensation she felt told her she was gravely mistaken.

Revan leapt.

She felt herself suddenly propelled with the force of a thousand engines igniting beneath her. Before she could comprehend what was happening, they were up in the air. The sense of vertigo was almost too much. Suddenly she felt herself falling and she feared the worst but Revan had grasped onto a ledge, abruptly stopping their motion. Ailene sucked in a breath of air, her stomach protesting violently. She dared to twist her neck to look back where they had just been.

_The ground! We're just leapt 10 meters from the ground!_

"Are you all right?" asked the voice in front of her

"H-How did you do that?"

"Mind over matter" Revan remarked dryly. "If it helps, close your eyes. Now get ready, this next one might be tricky."

Ailene barely had time to react before Revan made another surging leap. He deftly found another handhold, adjusted his weight for leverage and found another crevice to leap forward to. And so it went on for what Ailene felt like an eternity. All the time her stomach felt like it was doing a backflip in protest to the violent journey. She closed her eyes squeezing tightly to her lifeline. Sometimes Revan would slip slightly on a loose handhold before finding solid purchase, jerking Ailene and making her picture her premature death much more vividly.

_Isn't this just grand? Trussed up like a baby and tempting death at every leap. No one will believe this in my report._

She decided then to omit any references of her vomiting violently which she was sure to happen at any moment.

Finally, Revan stopped his furious ascent and started climbing like a sane person would as the incline gradually grew more shallow. They eventually reached a plateau where Revan crawled up to stand on. He gently lowered himself and untied the knot. Ailene hands fell to her sides trembling. After Revan undid the belt clasp she immediately sagged but was gently supported by Revan as she sat down. She breathed raggedly but noticed that Revan showed no serious outward signs of fatigue. If anyone looked at the pair, they would assume Revan made Ailene do all the climbing.

Tears had crept up in her eyes from fear and the flensing wind.

"Here, take deep breathes…drink this." He put a bottle of cool water to her shuddering lips.

"That's right slowly. Swallow only when you can."

Gradually her shudder lessened and she could support her own weight.

"I'm all right." She gasped.

"I'm sorry about that. No one really gets used to the leaping sensation." He gently patted her back to ease her nerves.

"You were very courageous." Ailene couldn't tell if it was admiration in his voice or whether her shot nerves were playing games with her.

"Please, just tell me to was worth it."

"It was." Smiled Revan. He pointed to the horizon & Ailene could make out the faint outline of the mining complex.

"Our objective awaits."

* * *

They walked slowly towards the mining facility. The terrain was still heavily uneven and Ailene almost slipped several times before being firmly held back by Revan's supporting arm. At times he would stop and tilt his head, as if scanning for potential ambush points. At times, they would double back to higher terrain that held better vantage points but Revan always kept them moving generally east.

At about two hundred meters from the complex he stopped.

"Contact" he scanned the horizon intently.

"Four sentries on the second outer level."

Ailene strained her eyes but couldn't make out much beyond the gloomy mist that permeated the mountain.

Revan had taken something out from the folds of his cloak. It was hard to make out in the dim moonlight but she got the distinct impression he was holding a tiny marble and communicator. He placed the marble in the palm of his right hand and held it out as if offering it to some invisible person. To Ailene's utter amazement a moment later, the marble began to float away from his palm, floating swiftly towards the general vicinity of the huddled sentries.

"What are you doing?" She whispered despite the fact they were still hundreds of meters away.

"Finding out what they are saying." Revan replied without moving his head. His right hand was rigidly held as Ailene saw the tiny object floated away into the distance towards the four sentries.

Several tense seconds passed before the device in Revan's left hand chimed. Evidently the sentries never saw the tiny encroaching device or if they did, dismissed it out of hand as an insect because Ailene could hear increasingly loud feedback coming from the device held in Revan's left palm. The noises were harsh and guttural as if the individuals had problems forming proper words but she could make out what they were saying to each other.

Most of the conversation was fairly irrelevant as different voices argued over who would get to eat following the next shift. Ailene's stomach lurched slightly when she heard them turn to discussing some prisoners they had apparently captured in their last raid.

_They are here. These really are the pirates_ thought Ailene as she continued to listen

"…One of them's got sass. I wouldn't mind taking her for a ride." Growled one of the voices.

"With what? That shriveled thing between your legs? She'd die of embarrassment first!" rasped another sentry. His voice was sharp and shrill.

"Come here and say that Rot-Eye" growled the first. "I'll shove this blade up holes you didn't even know you had."

_It's nice to know these bastards live up to their reputation of depravity_

Insults were launched at each other concerning their respective hygiene and general unattractiveness.

Eventually though they said something that caught both Revan's and Ailene's attention.

"You know who I'd like to take for a spin." Said a third voice. Wet hacking noises rippled through the air to the general disgust of the others.

"That Twi'lek with all those tattoos on her whose always talking with the boss" he continued. "She's a fine piece that one with her piercings and black leather."

"Don't we all" replied another voice. " 'cept she's one of those big scary Sith types. You try anything on her, and we'll be having what's left of you for dinner." General howls of laughter pealed the transmission after that.

"Aye, well at least she's something to look at. Those two other, uglier than sin I tell you." There was a general chorus of assent.

"How long are we staying in this crap hole? Don't the boss have better deals for us yet?"

"Boss says we stay till we can get more of those damn Jedi." growled another.

"You should have seen the little twerp they brought back with them. I swear he'd soiled himself. Thought Jedi were supposed to be brave"

"Not after they crossed paths with those three bastards. We could learn a thing or two from them."

"I'd rather the hot one learn a thing or two from my friend down here." More laughter was accompanied with this remark.

Their conversation turned back to more idle musings. The transmission stopped shortly afterwards as Revan turned off the device.

Ailene couldn't see the expression on Revan's face but she got the impression he was as disgusted as she was.

"Looks like we've found them at least" whispered Ailene.

"Not just the pirates. Sith." Revan spat out the last word like a curse.

Ailene had heard of the term but only in passing. She seemed to recall they were something to be abhorred and were only whispered about in passing where the Jedi were openly revered. For some reason, the word made her shiver.

"Who are they?" She asked.

"If you don't know, I think you're better off not knowing." replied Revan grimly. "Let's just say they are the reason why Jedi are needed in this galaxy. To prevent their wanton destruction and oppression from overwhelming the Republic."

"Sounds like a nice bunch."

Revan made a negative noise at the remark. He was crouched low head down, as if planning his next moves.

"So what do we do now?"

Revan was silent for a few seconds before responding.

"This doesn't change the objective of the mission. I suspected something worse than pirates had managed to take Master Vel'shar down. You don't become a Master without some competence." He looked up again at Ailene.

"From the sound of it, the two were taken hostage or at least the boy was. If that's the case I mean to find him."

"And the pirates? Sith?"

"I mean to kill them."

* * *

Revan and Ailene crept towards the base of the complex. Every heartbeat seemed louder than the last and she was sure that they would be seen. Suddenly Revan grabbed her by the shoulder and ushered her behind a large rock just in front of the building. Beyond the hammering din of her heartbeat, she could hear voices from the upper level. After a few tense seconds the voices faded again. When Revan was sure they were gone, he turned to Ailene and spoke to her directly in whispered undertones.

"From this point on, we will be operating under hostile activity. It's imperative you listen to me closely at all times. If I tell you to hide, you hide. Wait for my signal before you do anything. If I cannot control the battlefield it means I cannot protect you."

Ailene nodded vigorously hoping her jerky actions didn't seem too obvious.

"You don't carry any weapons, is that correct?"

Ailene looked down at her belt pouch doubtfully. She had a utility knife but she might as well have carried a bag full of Ewoks to throw for all the good it would do here.

"I usually wouldn't allow this but since I brought you to this place, I think it's only fair to give you something to defend yourself with."

Revan reached into the folds of his cloak again and unhooked something from the side of his belt. Ailene looked in interest as he revealed a black metal object.

She recognized it as a blaster although no model that she had ever seen. It seemed a lot less bulkier than the typical blaster pistols carried by the officers of Chiron although many components did not seem standard. The metal was polished but had evidently seen lots of use based on the scratches and dents on the surface. Strange engravings were seen at either side. She took the sidearm with trembling hands. It was surprisingly heavy but seemed comfortable once she grasped it.

Revan showed her how to hold the handle and aim the weapon.

"Unclick the safety here before combat. Apply only slight pressure to the trigger and it will fire. There isn't that much kickback but brace yourself all the same. You shouldn't need fresh powercells, this gun has a pretty long charge. Hopefully you will never need to fire it."

"I didn't think Jedi carried weapons like this."

"This is a personal item of mine."

Ailene looked at the weapon with a new sense of reverence.

"I'll do my best to be worthy of it sir."

"It has...sentimental value so I'll be needing back after all this is over."

Ailene nodded gratefully.

"We are near one of the ventilation shafts" said Revan quietly. "Once we get access we'll be making our way towards the area with the primary power generators."

"Lead the way sir."

Revan crept up to the side of the building. On the wall they were facing, Ailene could see a metal crate protecting the ventilation shaft Revan had spoken of. Without any apparent effort he grasped the metal hinges and pulled, ripping it off its supports. The metal had groaned in the process but the rust had allowed the metal to come off without too much sound. He quietly put the metal bars to the side and crouched, signaling Ailene to follow him. With that the two crept into the complex to face whatever dangers lurked within.


	6. Chapter 6 Negotiations

"Id like to talk about this mission lords."

Jorek Kreen stood a respectful distance away from the three figures in the dimply lit room. His armored hands were held behind his back with his head bowed in deference. Kreen held no illusions that the three thought of him indispensable and treaded lightly. His green forehead sweated with perspiration and he told himself that it was only the heat and not the sick feeling in his gut. He risked a look at his supposed 'employers'.

The leader of the supposed trio was barely visible in the dim gloom. Kreen couldn't make out any features but from his posture, it was clear he found such meetings beneath his notice.

The most visible and by far attractive person among the three was a red hued Twi'lek sitting languidly to his right. Lithe and graceful, this one represented the sexual ideal of her race. She wore a tight leather vest that accentuated her breasts, with strangely patterned tattoos flowing to either side of her arms. Her expression could only be described as seductively cruel. Kreen always got the impression she was sizing up her targets as potential snacks or playthings. Right now her yellow eyes flashed in the dim light.

"And what issue has your men brought forth now?" Her voice was like velvet silk, husky.

"I know you are perfectly satisfied with our arrangements." She licked her lips.

"With respect Mistress Vreeshar, the men grow tired of such poor sport. Aside from the Jedi, the raids have been dull and unrewarding."

"Such as bloodthirsty group" rasped another figure. Kreen fought down an involuntary shudder. "That's why I admire such fodder." The person who spoke – if person could still be used to describe him gave a hard chuckle that sounded like a rumbling volcano.

Of all three, Kreen hated this one the most. His entire head was a nightmare of burnt flesh and scars. He had no nose to speak of, only a ragged hole where sick black fluids leaked. Sure Kreen was an ugly bastard, but he didn't post a sign on his face to say he was repulsive. He admitted to himself that fear was always in the forefront when dealing with this one. 'Excrutiatus' was a title rightfully earned as this monster was in charge of 'interrogating' the slaves and captured Jedi. The types of noises emanating from the makeshift cells did not seem possible by any species in the galaxy he knew.

Kreen swallowed to calm his nerves.

"With respect lords, it has been a week since the Jedi were captured. If any reinforcements were evident, we should have seen them by now." He wiped his brow.

"You pay us by the head and not for time spent idly sitting by."

"Your little mole said another one of the accursed enemy arrived not long ago, no?" asked Vreeshar.

"I was informed that another Jedi was sent and was investigating." admitted Kreen. "but my men have yet to see any evidence of that."

"Then we wait" replied Vreeshar. She was holding one of her black metal lightsabers lazily in one hand, stroking the shaft with the other. Her smile cut.

"Once the Jedi is sighted, we will take the plaything and you will receive payment."

Kreen fidgeted nervously behind his back unsure how to continue. "Are we simply to wait for the Jedi to trickle their resources sending members here?"

"We told you at the onset this would be a long term engagement and that the rewards would be plentiful if you remain committed…you are still committed aren't you Commander?" Vreeshar's voice held the undercurrent of a threat.

Kreen did his best not to balk. "Of course mistress, but my men grow restless, they crave the heat of battle. The Blooded need combat."

"You had best keep your men in line Commander." Growled Excrutiatus. He made the title sound like a mockery. "Or else they shall be my latest guests in the cells."

"We will consider your words." Said Vreeshar. "Know that the Talon Cult has invested much into this venture and rewards those loyal to their cause." Her words signaled an end to the meeting. Kreen wanted to push for more but knew that it wasn't in his best interests for leaving the room with all his body parts.

_Curse these filthy whoresons_ he thought

Grudgingly he gave a short bow and marched away, his footstep echoing his displeasure.

"The mewling whelp has a point" Excruciatus rasped. "The pathetic enemy can't even rally enough of their warriors to face us in direct combat."

"They are being cautious." Replied Vreeshar dismissively. "In time, more fodder will come to this miserable world and we can do what we will with them." She smiled wickedly as if already imagining the depraved torture sessions she would be able to preside over.

"Perhaps I should give them more encouragement." The scarred warrior licked his lipless mouth. "Storm the city and slaughter the people like the cattle that they are." Drool had leaked out of the corners of his mouth in anticipation.

"You will do no such thing" said a third voice. The sound was cold and authoritative with a mechanical echo to it. Both Excrutiatus and Vreeshar immediately tilted their heads to the figure behind them in respect. His hairless scalp had a sickening pale palour to it, as if death clung to him like a second skin. His eyes, neither dark or light but gave the impression of a predator at rest. Most of his face was dominated by a breather unit with multiple tubes snaking back into the folds of his cloak. When he spoke, the other two Sith listened with due reverence.

"This operation requires a deft hand. Subtlety may not be familiar to you Excrutiatus, but if you do anything to compromise our security, you will wish you had died under my previous ministrations." The cold metallic voice vibrated across the room echoing in the empty halls.

"Forgive me my lord" growled Excrutiatus "I let my impatience cloud my better judgement." Even in a posture of subservience, his voice boiled with the threat of a challenge.

"A momentary lapse Master Mreth" smiled Vreeshar sauntering seductively to stand slightly behind her lord. She placed her hands possessively around his cloak. "We all desire better sport than the rabble of this blighted world."

"The mission comes first." Mreth had steepled gauntleted hands and placed them under his metal chin. "Our associates have invested much in sending us here. We will provide them with the materials that they need."

"Of course Master." Vreeshar leaned in close. "But not until we have our pleasure of course."

"They must be good enough conditions to survive the tests" replied Mreth. "Any fodder brought back that lacks the stamina to endure them will result in both of you incurring my wrath." Vreeshar cautiously took her hands off the Sith Lord.

"What of the prey that we have already caught?" snarled Excrutiatus. "Do we keep them locked up just to waste away?"

"Reinforcements are arriving soon to escort them to our base of operations." Said Mreth contemptuously. Although I had hoped to present more victims, this will have to suffice for the time being. Once we are properly established here, we can call on more of our brethren to harass other worlds and the bodies will start to flow."

"We have never made bolder moves." Warned Vreeshar. "Eventually other forces than the Jedi will react to our actions."

"We are on the precipice of a new age." Said Mreth coldly. "What we do now will shape the entire forces of the galaxy in the thousands of generations to come, until the extinction of mortal flesh."

He pointed a metal clawed finger to both of his subordinates. "You will perform to my satisfaction, or I will find other bodies to deal with the situation."

Both Sith were sufficiently cowed by the blatant threat not to respond beyond a general murmur of assent.

"Make sure the prisoners are in satisfactory condition" came the dismissive command. "But ensure they cannot put up any meaningful resistance."

The two figures sketched bows to their lord and turned away from the room. Their footfalls echoed the halls until gradually the only sound was the faint rasping breath of the Sith Lord, enthroned within the chamber.

* * *

Ailene followed Revan in the near darkness of the ventilation shafts. She could not see anything directly beyond her except for the faint glow emitted by the light she held from the camp. Revan led at the front but did not seem to require illumination. They would crawl for several minutes before Revan would pick a fork in their paths seemingly at random. This carried on for what seemed like ages to Ailene.

_He must have read the facility schematics. That or we're hopelessly lost. _She thought.

She didn't have a good sense of direction anymore but she was fairly sure they were descending to the lower levels of the facility.

"What are we going to do once we reach the power generators?" She asked softly.

"From there we will prepare our ambush." replied Revan.

"Ambush? We are only two people." She was beginning to regret taking Revan's oath at face value. Even if he used her as a living shield, Ailene could not see how he expected to take on an entire facilities worth of enemies.

"Numbers do not matter when every other advantage is the opponents." Replied Revan matter of factly. "But we have to make all of them count in the time frame we have."

They crawled for a few more minutes until Revan called for a halt. A metal grill barred their way.

Ailene crouched on all fours while as Revan quietly worked on the metal framework. He applied pressure on the metal until the frame gave way. "Stay here" he whispered. He crept quietly out of the hole and disappeared into the gloomy light. Ailene waited for several minutes, her hands sweating despite the cold metallic floor.

_If I'm going to die, I hope it's in a less embarrassing position _she thought idly.

Eventually Revan returned and beckoned her to keep moving. Ailene crawled out of the shaft and squinted in the gloom to reveal a roughly circular room. In the center sat two huge cylindrical metal structures. A faint humming noise was heard emanating from them. Various control consoles and data readouts surrounded the generators as well as the surrounding room.

"This is it." Said Revan. He scanned the monument with a critical eye.

"Doesn't look very well maintained" Ailene remarked. Many of the readouts were showing glowing red warning icons.

"I suspect, the pirates didn't have the technical expertise to get the facility functioning beyond minimal system requirements." Said Revan scanning the contents of one of the consoles.

"Basic life support, temperature control…none of the processors or ore extraction systems are online."

He turned to face her again. "But enough for their purposes of living off this discarded complex."

"How do you plan to stage this ambush?" she fingered the weapon Revan had given her. She could almost believe the weapon was itching to be fired.

"Take this." Revan held out a small oval object in his right hand.

_He seems to have an unlimited supply of gadgets_

Ailene gazed at what looked like a tiny bomb. A timer was primed and a glowing green switch flickered at the ready.

"You're going to blow the facility up?" She gulped at the thought. Apparently, overkill wasn't in Revan's vocabulary either.

"Nothing so dramatic." Replied Revan. "This is an EMP. After it activates the primary generators will fail and the facility will be temporarily disabled." He stood rigidly, his head tilted as if picturing how the scenario will play out.

"We won't be able to see much then." She observed.

"Secondary failsafe systems should respond after a few moments. In the confusion, I will engage the enemy and cause as much damage as possible."

He stared at her then, his expression as serious as she had ever seen him.

"This is the part where you must follow my instructions to the letter." He said gravely. "When I am engaging the enemy, you must stay in whatever position I tell you to be. When I tell you to follow me, do so immediately. Ignore any noises you hear beyond my commands.

Ailene nodded. She gripped the handle of her weapon tightly.

"You'll be able to hear me with this." He handed her one of his combeads.

"If I am unable to speak freely, one click over the channel, means stop. Two clicks means proceed." They briefly tested the system until Revan nodded in satisfaction.

"Good, now get ready. Once I'm in position I'll give you the signal to turn on the device. After that, wait until I tell you to move" He got ready to leave but stopped suddenly, as if considering something as an afterthought.

"I'm counting on you Ailene." said Revan with a gentle smile. "I know you will not let me down." He placed a reassuring hand on her left shoulder.

Ailene smiled tremulously. "I won't sir."

Revan gave her a small nod and walked swiftly towards the exit, his footsteps never making a sound.


	7. Chapter 7 The Ambush

_Fear is the ultimate weapon. The bane of Jedi _

_and Sith alike. __A Jedi should not let his fear control him_

_but rather harness it. __Once it seeps into the enemy_

_they have already won._

_-unknown source  
_

* * *

Mercenaries filled the vast empty chamber that served as the prisoner's confinement. Some walked the length of the room checking each side office that served as the makeshift torture cells. Others chatted idly or gambled with what credits they had. The room stank of piss, blood and excrement even though the adjoining cells were all closed. But one odor was prevalent among all others.

Death

After weeks of confinement and brutal treatment, death was a familiar friend to every wretched soul trapped in this hellish domain. Victims of various raids littered the cells. The more recent arrivals would sometimes beg or try to bargain with their captors. Others who had stayed longer sat lifelessly in dark corners of their rooms, in various cataconic states. Some moaned endlessly from the horrifying tortures endured. Not all the bodies remained breathing.

Twenty mercenaries occupied this room, the lords of their perverse domain. Every one of them went about their business as if nothing was amiss. None of the were aware that death and retribution was so close to them, staring out from the balcony above.

* * *

"Ailene"

She jumped slightly at the sudden noise in her ear.

"Yes sir?"

"It's time. Trigger the device."

With bated breath, she flipped the switch. A faint high pitched sound began to emanate from the bomb gradually reaching a deafening crescendo. When the timer reached zero a loud distortion echoed across the entire chamber. She saw sparks fly from the generators behind and suddenly everything was dark.

"Revan?" she whispered into her combead.

All she heard was a faint static hiss.

* * *

The guards in the suddenly blackened room bolted upright from various positions, unholstering their weapons.

"The hell was that?" someone shouted.

"Damn generators on the fritz you idiot! What do you think?"

"So go check on the damn thing!"

Various arguments started breaking out in the room. Everyone agitatedly moved around, some checking that the cell doors hadn't unlocked.

Their arguments were abruptly cut off when a piercing scream rang out through the room. Everyone turned wildly to see a mercenary staggering, a bright beam of blue light having erupted from his chest. Just as quickly it was gone and the corpse dropped lifelessly to the ground.

Some guards began to fire wildly in the general vicinity where the guard had fallen, others yelling orders to cease their useless barrage.

"Hold your blasted fire!"

A sweating guard whipped his head violently around before he felt a faint swoosh of air behind him. He turned his head quickly enough to see a silhouette cutting the distance between them. Wildly he brought his arm to bear for a shot.

A flash of blue light arced up, taking his arm at the joint.

He howled in agony clutching his stump and falling back. The room was lit now with the frequent red light of blaster fire. Guards shot with wild abandon at shadows they thought had moved and more often than not scorched the surrounding walls. Sometimes an unlucky shot would clip one of the other mercenaries. They yelled commands at each other uselessly. This was punctuated by the occasional scream as another guard was brutally cut down.

Every remaining guard felt the bone chilling grip of fear. It robbed them of their focus, causing to stumble wildly and exposing themselves with all the noise they made. For so long they were the ones that brought horror and death in this decrepit hole. It seemed fate was not content to let them escape the cycle.

The mercenaries huddled together in the vain hope that they would not be picked off like their former comrades. Bodies littered the floor around them, gently steaming. They could detect the smell of freshly burnt meat.

"Command, this is prison security!" shouted one of the guards.

"We are under attack by an unknown disposition of enemies! Get some damn reinforcements here!"

Static feedback was the only response in his helmet.

They were suddenly all aware of a figure standing in front of their huddled forms, illuminated by a gently glowing blade held in his right hand. He was bathed in a cold blue light, wraithlike with a hood masking his features. Every guard whipped their shaking weapons at his direction.

"Justice has come for you." The voice chilled the very fiber of their beings.

The men fired in unison, those in front kneeling so everyone could launch a concentrated volley. Bright angry beams of energy ripped through the air only to be turned away by the gleaming blade at every turn. Some shots actually ricocheted back to the attackers, dropping the surprised guards. The figure approached steadily with deadly promise, his aspect grim.

"Blades out!" one of the guards snarled seeing how ineffective their current tactics were.

The men drew their flaying knives, the signature weapon of their groups, which had caused so much agony among countless individuals on their campaigns.

It was with a perverse irony that in the next few moments, each of these savages would experience the same kind of horrible death they had inflicted on countless victims. Two guards launched themselves at the approaching figure hoping to tackle him to the ground. They moved in haphazard coordination, leading with their combat blades. The first guard leapt but his momentum was halted almost immediately as his wrist was grabbed in an iron vice and wrenched to the side. With his guard so open, the cloaked figure used his other hand with the glowing blue blade to slice the attacker's head clean off.

The horrified guard momentarily saw his own body kicked away before dying.

The second assailant stumbled as he tripped over the falling corpse. His off balance motions were rewarded with him being violently impaled on the enemy's deadly weapon. The guard was not so much thrown off by his killer as he was slowly being dragged down to the floor by his own weight, the blade immobile yet slicing through flesh and armor like hot butter as he fell.

The remaining survivors scrambled in order to make them less obvious targets for the ongoing slaughter. A few attempted to flank their assailant. It would make no matter what tactics they tried. The next unfortunate victim to fall died executing a flawless parry. His knife was positioned in the perfect position to deflect the downward blade. The glowing blue beam hissed through the metal like it was a nuisance before it literally cut him in half.

One of the survivors, a gigantic wookie fully three heads taller than any other mercenary bellowed a war cry in his savage tongue and charged their tormentor. Blood was matted to his chest and arms, and he swung his-log like arms in attempt to grip the enemy in a bear hug. The cloaked figure easily dodged the clumsy attempt and cut his legs out from under him. The wookie skidded to the floor slick with the blood over his body, howling and clutching the burning stumps of his legs.

The remainder of the displaced group finally lost their nerve and ran away blindly into the darkness. That was perhaps the worst mistake of all. Their loud footfalls made them easy targets for the deathly apparition stalking them and they died screaming as their legs or torso were cut from under them. The final survivor had managed to stumble towards the exit of this hellish chamber. His escape came to an immediate halt as his whole body suddenly became rigid. Eyes widened in panic as his body refused to obey any command like he was trapped in some invisible energy field. He realized then that he was floating about a foot in the air. The guard died never seeing his assailant as the deadly blade pierced his heart, its kiss brutal and hot.

* * *

Ailene chewed her lips nervously as she counted the seconds that went by. After she had triggered the bomb, she had ducked behind one of the control consoles hoping whatever happened next would not result in her increasingly likely demise. She had heard the distant sound of shouting, which had quickly turned to screams of pain and terror. Ailene shuddered every time she heard a howl or shout abruptly being cut off until the next victim did the same. Whatever carnage was being wrecked in the other rooms, she dearly hoped Revan was not on the receiving end. Without him, her chances of survival were more than laughable.

_This is beginning to sound like one of those horror stories people are always trying to scare me with_

Unlike the stories though, she was right in the thick of it. Seconds turned into minutes as the frequency of the screams gradually lessened and all she could her in the wind was a faint moaning. Even this was silenced leaving only a whispering wind echoing in the air.

She jumped suddenly as she heard the combead in her ear activate.

"Ailene"

"Revan-sir, are you all right?"

"I'm fine, we need to move quickly now. The rest of the complex must have heard that din. Come towards the center hall of this level. Just keep going straight though all the doors. I'll be waiting there. Quickly now"

She jumped from her position to do as he bid. For a while she stumbled in the dark, her hands held in front to find adjoining walls. Suddenly a soft red glow lit up her surrounding allowing her to see much more efficiently.

_Must be the secondary systems powering up_ she thought gratefully.

She made the rest of her way with relative ease. She was eager to meet up with Revan, hating being alone in such a dreadful place but when she arrived in the room Revan told her about, she quickly wished she stayed in the generator room.

Her mouth dropped open as she stared at the carnage before her. Bodies littered the floor in various states of dismemberment. Limbs had literally been hacked off as steaming piles of meat and blood was slick around the floor. The red glow only amplified the macabre scene surrounding around her. What kind of lunatic's hell could she have possibly stumbled into? The smell was almost unbearable. Ailene felt the immediate need to empty the contents of her stomach in a violent discharge. She felt a calming hand on her back.

"This is traumatic, I know. But time is of the essence. We have to move before the enemy can formulate an appropriate response." He gently but firmly guided her in the direction of a flight of stairs leading to the next level.

"We can free the prisoners after we've dealt with the rest of bastards here."

"Prisoners?" Ailene thought dully. She managed to push away from the horrible images burnt into her mind and glance at the surrounding doors. In the dull red light she could glimpse skeleton like figures looking through their caged doors, their eyes wide in silent appeal.

"Please...mercy" one of them whispered. Her skin looked sickly and rotting.

Ailene did not know what to say as she was half dragged, half guided by Revan up the stairs.

* * *

"What the hell was that?" growled Kreen to his lieutenant.

The lights had flickered erratically for a few seconds in the command room before completely dying out. Only the dim moonlight from the outer windows provided any source of illuminations. Frantic shouts and curses had been uttered across the rooms as people tried to form some semblance of order.

His subordinate, a vicious looking Nitko with sharpened horns ignored him while he tried to listen into his headset.

"Communications and power is down" he replied eventually. "It looks like we are under attack."

"Why weren't we warned?" Kreen demanded. His mercenaries, while brutal and savage, were also professionals. He had fortified the complex and rotated sentries every few hours so this kind of scenario would not occur without due warning. "When did the sentries outside last check in?"

"About five minutes ago." The lieutenant looked uneasy. "They didn't report anything out of the ordinary."

"What kind of incompetent scum do we have mounting the posts? Were they too busy jerking each other off to see the enemy waltz in the bloody entrance?"

He didn't wait for the chastened figure to reply. "I want kill teams deployed right now!" "You, you and you!" He pointed to his sergeants in the gloomy room. "Get your men ready and deal with this intrusion." His lackeys growled their acknowledgement and shambled out of the room.

_There's going to be hell to pay for this_ he thought savagely. He had the distinct sick feeling that he would be receiving two very unpleasant visitors soon and that the length of time he remained breathing would depend on the quality of his command in the coming moments.

* * *

Ailene followed Revan through the distinctly red corridors favoring the walls whenever possible. The shadows stretched infinitely long through the empty chambers and she gave a little jump every time she thought she saw movement. These intervals were punctuated with Revan holding up a hand or a clicking in the combead before disappearing into the gloom. Some shouts and gunfire would erupt followed by a faint blue beam of light flashing in the distance before the hallways were silenced again. Ailene never got a good looking at the fighting. All she really saw was an indistinctive blur of motion and bodies flailing about. She heard the distinct double click over her combead which told Ailene to proceed. Every time she moved then, she dreaded glancing upon the corpses that would inevitably pile across the cold metal floor.

Ailene lost track of the bodies that had fallen since they left the lower levels. She dimly remembered ascending several more flights of stairs and walking complete circuits around the level before Revan led them quickly to ascend to the next. She felt eternally weary now. Ailene had fantasized about Jedi bringing combat in glorious battle upon an open field, fighting the foe face to face. Instead she was skulking around with one of them in the shadows bringing death like some vicious predator.

_I was stupid to think this would be anything like the stories_ she thought miserably. Her shuddering breath had increased in frequency right now. She realized she was crying.

Revan had stopped his exhausting pace of motion and looked back at Ailene. She couldn't really see anything through the haze of her tears but his posture seemed shamed and defeated.

"I'm sorry" he whispered quietly. "I should never have brought you to this place." He turned towards her, his head bowed.

Ailene didn't know what to say at that moment. She should have hated him she supposed but all she could feel was an emptiness where her innocence was.

"I told you once how I looked negatively upon the order for their arrogance and hubris." He rubbed his face with a gauntleted hand. "But I have done exactly the same thing." He looked up to face her directly, unhooded. His dark eyes looked infinitely sad. "I took other people around me for granted and did only what I thought was right."

Ailene felt something close to what she thought was relief. Ever since she had arrived in this foul place, this was the most human event she had seen or heard.

"I-I'm not angry at you sir. Just at myself for being so…so naïve."

She felt a reassuring hand on her should. "Never feel ashamed for believing in a better world. It is ideals like that which make the battles Jedi are in worth fighting for." He seemed to look past her now. "Without people like you, the galaxy would be a miserable hellhole. It is my undying privilege and honor to do battle in service of the virtuous souls of the Republic."

Ailene suddenly felt better now with Revan's rousing words. The halls seemed less foreboding now and her gasping breath came slower.

"Thank you sir, for saying that." She smiled as best as she could through her tear stained face. "I know you won't let me down." echoing Revan's previous sentiment.

Revan gave one of his tiny smiles. "Never, in all the time to come."

They resumed their stalking pace through the empty chambers.


	8. Chapter 8 The Deception

"Your explanation" said Vreeshar "had better be phenomenally good" Gone was her playful tone. It was replaced by the distinct cold and callous ringing more suited to her kind.

Kreen stood boldly in front of Vreeshar and Excrutiatus, surrounded by his savage bodyguards. They fingered their weapons nervously, although none of them had the stupidity to point their guns at the two Sith. Vreeshar had not drawn her weapons either but the twisted glare on her normally beautiful face more than made up for that. Excrutiatus on the other had drawn his lightsaber, the blood red blade igniting the entire room in a soft red light. He licked his lips in anticipation of the coming bloodbath. Kreen could just see that Excrutiatus was begging for his men to make a wrong move. The air was charged with tension, where the slightest wrong word or gesture could turn the whole confrontation into a massacre. In this battle of wills though, the Blooded had the distinct disadvantage of being outclassed by their employers.

"Our men reports that they saw no intruders from the outer walls" growled Kreen. "This was down with subtlety and guile. Whatever group had infiltrated must have had information to the complex's layout." Kreen gave an angry snort. "They struck at the generators first. My men were taken completely by surprise."

He could still hardly believe what he said himself. Communications had gradually re-established itself as the secondary systems came online. The men had said they saw corpses of their former comrades literally hacked into indivisible body parts. Arm, hands and legs littered the halls like a macabre decoration. The Blooded were savage depraved individuals, but even Kreen had a standard of decorum for hideout locations. Whoever did this obviously did not share the same notion. What bothered Kreen the most was the reports on the types of injuries inflicted on the victims. The wounds were seared with extreme heat, cauterizing the wound but leaving an awful smell in its wake. Kreen knew only one type of weapon that left that type of injury.

"You're men have not even seen the enemy yet? Are they all so useless that they expire in fright before getting a good look at the target?" Vreeshar's lips curled in a sneer.

"Security feeds have been knocked out one by one through different levels" replied Kreen through gritted teeth. "Visibility is at a minimum and there is no warning when these bastards strike. Everybody linked into the comm. system only hears blaster fire and screaming before the victim's link goes dead."

He glared at the two figures in front of him, regretting ever agreeing to this ridiculous venture.

"We have reason to suspect that the invaders are Jedi Knights."

"Impossible" scoffed Vreeshar. "We would have sensed their presence the moment they landed on this blighted dirtball of a mountain."

"Then how do you explain the exit wounds on my men that were killed?" Snapped Kreen. "Scorched meat, limbs hacked off with no apparent effort. Only your damn lightsabers can do that sort of damage."

"Perhaps they have a nasty sense of humor" hissed Vreeshar. "butchering your men with blades while they savored their screams after they burned them." Kreen got the distinct impression Vreeshar was talking from past experience.

"You've got to be kidding" snarled Kreen. "at least fourty of my men dead in almost half that time, and you think this isn't the work of Jedi or Sith?" Kreen could well believe a rival Sith cult was responsible although Jedi retribution was more likely. From what he'd heard the Sith almost universally disagreed with everything beyond the fact that they should be the sole rulers of the galaxy and that they needed to wipe out their hated sworn enemy. It was a miracle they didn't exterminate themselves from the face of existence. He pointed an accusing finger at the pair.

"I knew the Jedi wouldn't take this lying down. They've sent a superior force to clean up the mess you've made. Now I'm-"

Kreen never got a chance to finish his sentence as a sudden black blurry form leaped into his line of sight and bodily hauled him from the ground by his neck. He tried to speak but the clamp on his neck constricted violently and he gagged wordlessly.

"You dare place the blame on us?" snarled Excrutiatus. He effortlessly held Kreen afloat with his left hand and placed his glowing red blade to the side of his victim's head. Kreen's ear started to singe and smoke.

"In case you've forgotten commander, you were the one who doubted the Jedi would retaliate at all" Vreeshar replied. She eyed the commander dangerously but made no attempt to stop her fellow Sith.

"I will feed you your own entrails pathetic mortal" Exruciatus rasped. "Then I will cut off your manhood so you can see it as I burn it with the rest of your body" His breath reeked of foul meat and blood. Kreen's men had drawn their weapons and started to aim at their commander's assailant, but a glare from Excrutiatus made them reconsider the wisdom of their course of action.

He would have made good on his promise too if Vreeshar did not grab Excrutiatus' arm and yanked the lightsaber away from the burning Commander's head.

"Put that away" she snarled, "Kill him, and the rest of his forces will be thrown in disarray."

"Let them." Growled Excrutiatus. "We do not need such fodder to fight our battles for us." His grip on the commander did not lessen and Kreen had turned a distinct shade of purple from his habitual green.

"Let them be butchered by the enemy so they are too weary to wield their weapons. I will descend upon them with blood and fury and claim their corpses as trophies."

"Remember Lord Mreth's words" Vreeshar said coldly. "We will not reveal ourselves unless it is absolutely necessary. Our operation's success hinges on our identities being hidden from the Jedi!"

At the mention of the Sith Lord, Excrutiatus relaxed his grip on the suffocating commander. He growled in disgust and tossed the Vurk to the ground like a discarded meal.

Vreeshar stood over the gasping commander like a predator considering her trophy. "We will give you this one chance to redeem yourself" her tones betrayed her impatience with the whole ordeal. "Gather all your men. And I do mean ALL to find these attackers and eliminate them."

She pointed at the remaining members of the Blooded standing in the room. "Fail in this task, and I will make what the attackers did to your comrades seem like an amateur's joke once I'm done with the rest of you." She dared anyone in the room to rise up to her challenge.

The Blooded looked uneasily at each other. Kreen staggered back up to his feet and spat out some unpleasant fluid that had collected in his throat. He didn't even dare to glance up at the Sith.

"You had best hurry commander, I cannot hold back my companion from eviscerating you forever."

Kreen shambled out of the room with the rest of his band.

* * *

Once they were gone Vreeshar glanced at Excrutiatus who was still cursing under his breath at the loss of his prize. "Lord Mreth will expect us to explain this…disturbance." She grimaced at her own words. "The identity and disposition of these attackers must be known."

"Then we bring the fight to the enemy. Kill them and it will not matter that they see us for what we are. Let their last vision in life be the face of their killers while we devour their corpses!"

"We will watch the Blooded engage, nothing more" hissed Vreeshar. "Your perverse addiction will have to wait until we are sure the attackers are sufficiently weakened to pose no threat to our plans."

"Don't presume to tell me what to do Vreeshar" snarled Excrutiatus "You are not as favored as you'd like to think" He clawed his hands as if he were ready to strike at the Twi'lek.

"Try thinking with that shriveled lump of meat in your head for once fool" snapped Vreeshar. "If the Jedi have come in force, you will be lucky to keep it. We cannot withstand an army of those accursed warriors until our own allies arrive."

"Your weakness is sickening female" came the growling reply. It looked like Excrutiatus was going to bound away at the leaving mercenaries anyways.

"Unless you would like to explain to Lord Mreth how you single handedly ruined this whole mission you will do as I say!" snarled Vreeshar. "Or do you think you're not ugly enough as it is? Mreth will do more than reorganize your face next time!"

"Coward" spat Excrutiatus. He slashed at a command console, splitting the equipment in half causing a huge electrical discharge across the room. However he was cowed enough and stopped his murderous pacing.

"Follow me" Vreeshar said coldy. "We'll hide in the shadows and see what sort of mess these ingrates have gotten into."

She left quickly for the doors tailed by the angry footsteps of Excrutiatus.

* * *

Ailene and Revan had arrived in a vast chamber filled with broken machinery. Many of the equipment looked liked drills and ore processing units. Broken pipes hung to the side of the wall. The ground was a jagged ruin of floor tiles and rocks. Revan scanned the room with interest.

"This looks like where the thermo detonation took place"

Ailene looked at the debris covering the room and didn't disagree. Whatever triggered the explosion had done enough devastation to make sure nothing in it was salvageable.

"It looks like a leak in the main intake valves." She observed.

Revan only seemed to half hear her, he was looking intently at the floor they were standing on.

"The ground here is unstable" he stated. "A sizeable force could bring this whole level crashing down." He looked at the room thoughtfully.

"That's all very nice and well" Ailene said nervously "But shouldn't we keep moving so the pirates don't track us down before we do?"

Revan didn't reply for a moment. He seemed to be considering a possible scenario. "I'm going to retrieve some of the bodies from the hallway." He started to move back towards the entrance.

"What are you thinking?" Ailene asked. Revan's plans always seemed to end with her being very regretful at being a part of it. She hoped that this time at least, it didn't end with everyone in the room being butchered like so much meat.

"Killing a lot of birds with one stone." He gestured to a corner of the room, away from the weak floor. "Hide behind those rocks there. Wait for my signal before you do anything else."

Ailene nodded and shuffled off. She didn't like the feeling that was brewing in her stomach again.

_Please let this be the last time I see him dismember somebody _she pleaded silently.

She looked back to see Revan had already disappeared into the gloom beyond.

* * *

Jorek Kreen and his bodyguards prowled the upper level of the complex. The most recent reports had indicated that the intruder's presence had been in this region. Kreen deduced this when his sergeant's report of their surveillance was cut off abruptly by shouts and screams followed quickly by silence. From Kreen's point of view, the attackers would have moved on by now so technically Kreen was moving to the safest part of the complex. After the number done by these intruders he had no wish to engage them in direct combat. His losses in this campaign were already on the verge of causing his ruin and the dissolution of the mercenary band. The best he could hope for was to sit this mission out and hope that the Sith and Jedi killed each other.

Of course his bodyguards didn't need to know his reasoning.

They approached a vast chamber that was littered with junk and fallen rock. His bodyguards spread out looking for any signs of the attackers. Kreen glanced around. He had known that this room was in such disrepair and had subsequently discarded it for any practical use since too much heavy debris had fallen to move.

"Commander, I have found more corpses" grated one of his subordinates. All the other three figures converged on the first bodyguard. They kneeled down to look at the handiwork.

"Looks consistent with all the others" said one of the other mercenaries grimly. The bodies had been splayed out like a grotesque puppet show. One of them was unmasked and his death visage had been one of intense pain and horror.

"Bastards are gutting us like cattle" snarled another guard

"Screw this, I'm not going to wait around while they pick us all off one by one."

The other bodyguards nodded vigorously with this assessment.

Kreen glared at his mutinous crew but knew that pushing the point now was mute. "You try and piss off now, and the Sith will serve you on a platter" he warned anyways.

"Better that than all waiting for this to happen to us" One of the guards pointed back at the gruesome scene.

"This mission's already gone to hell. And I don't see any pay coming soon. You're on your own Kreen." He spat on the floor. "Have fun explaining this to those bastards." The three bodyguards began moving towards the exit.

No sooner had they turned around when a shadow detached itself from the ledge above the chamber door. It leaped into the middle of the trio and twirled in a flashing circle of blue light. Heads went flying wildly across the room and their bodies slumped down slowly. Kreen barely had time to register all this before the shadow leaped towards him in a lightning quick motion. He tried to draw his sidearm but his neck was suddenly gripped in an unbreakable chokehold. A deadly beam of light came to rest centimeters from his face.

Kreen had a haunting sense of déjà vu.

"One word and you'll be a head shorter" a voice whispered in his ear. It sounded like the rattling exhale from a reanimated corpse or maybe it was his imagination. He had never been so terrified in his life.

He managed to make a jerky nod before his captor continued.

"You are linked with all the other members of your cadre" he stated flatly.

"Yes…" Kreen gasped. The hold on his neck was even tighter now.

"Tell every team to go to the central furnace chamber." snarled the silhouette. "Inform them that the intruders have been trapped in the room and they should secure the area."

Kreen hesitated and the bright blue blade came closer to his head. He started to perspire freely.

"I can lop off a hand if you think I'm bluffing."

The figure edged closer now. He smelled like death. Kreen started gasping for air.

* * *

"Say that again!" snarled one of the mercenary sergeants.

"I said get your asses towards the furnace room right now! Section 4B. This is a general order. We've found the bloody assholes who attacked us. I need reinforcements to secure the area."

The sergeant frowned. The command made little sense. He didn't hear fighting over the combead and there seemed to be a trace of hysteria in the commander's voice.

"Confirm that with the passcode" he growled. Passcodes were special phrases used by mercenary members to indicate whether they were speaking under duress. If that was the case whatever Kreen said could not be trusted.

A momentary silence followed.

"Bladework" came the response. The sergeant relaxed a bit. That was the word to indicate the individual was speaking on his own volition.

"You heard him" the sergeant said to the rest of his team. They started marching cautiously towards the destination specified.

* * *

All the teams eventually met in the location their commander indicated. The furnace room was a vast discarded chamber used to destroy perishable goods such as broken equipment and garbage. At the moment the room was dimly lit with various heaps of garbage thrown in disarray. The furnace itself was to the back of the room, blackened and inert.

The fifty remaining mercenaries walked warily into the room. They couldn't see anything clearly in the dim light but it was clear to them that the commander wasn't here.

"Be on the lookout" one of the guards growled. "Spread out and find the bloody commander"

The guards dispersed into the room looking under fallen stone and garbage.

Eventually Kreen's voice was heard "Is everyone there?"

"Yes, where the hell are you dammit?" snapped one of his men.

* * *

"Are they in position?"

Kreen gave a shaky nod of his head indicating that everyone was in the chamber he ordered them to go to.

"Good."

He stared in horror at the events about the unfold. Floating high in the middle of the damaged room was a pile of masonry stones and huge broken drills, the discarded remnants of the explosion. They floated directly above the fragile floor.

The huge objects suddenly dropped with the force of a lumbering Rancor tripping over itself. The ground gave a shuddering jerk before a large rumbling sound began to build up. Almost as abruptly the entire floor collapsed, huge chunks of stones descending upon the floor below like meteors.

Shouts of surprise and anger were almost completely eclipsed by the din caused by the falling rocks. The sound continued for what seemed like ages as Kreen was almost deafened by the constant barrage of abuse to his senses. Gradually the sound died away and all he heard was the constant thumping of his heart. In about five seconds, he had consigned all the remaining fifty of his men to die a brutal death by falling debris.


	9. Chapter 9 The Confrontation

Kreen stared at the great yawning chasm after the rubble had settled. Huge dust clouds billowed out of the hole and Kreen could see weapons and limbs jutting out of the debris below him. Some of the limbs were still twitching involuntarily in their death throes.

_How can this have happened?_ He thought in stupefied silence.

When the sergeant had demanded the passcode to verify the truth of his words, Kreen had desperately tried to answer with the warning phrase. Yet his mind had somehow been compelled to say the 'all clear' word despite his internal objections. It was almost as if someone had willed his own mind to force Kreen to betray his own men. His focus immediately snapped back to the present as he was roughly hauled back straight and spun around to face his attacker.

Kreen could not see the person's hooded face through the darkness but his immediate thought was that he was looking at an avatar of death itself. The blade had disappeared for now with both of the cloaked figure's arms holding the material underneath his chest armor. The commander struggled uselessly in his grip for a few moments before sagging back.

"I'm not going to waste my time with obfuscation so do not pretend you can't understand what I'm about to say." The voice was low and menacing with deadly promise.

Kreen didn't say anything but the fear in his eyes said it all.

"Where. Are. The. Sith?" The man enunciated each word with exaggerated care.

"T-The sixth floor, right above us. Control room." Kreen managed to gasp out

"Why are they here? What do they want with the Jedi and civilians? The other person demanded. He leaned in closer at his victim.

"I don't know." Kreen growled. For some reason he couldn't stand to look directly at the hooded figure. Every time he turned his head to the darkness underneath the hood, he felt as if part of him was being sucked into the void where a face should have been.

"Your life is measured in seconds. Do not think I won't drop you down this hole to join your decrepit brethren in death." To demonstrate his point, Kreen's tormentor took several quick steps towards the gaping chasm in the middle of the room. Kreen probably could have survived the fall even with the sharp jutting rocks waiting to break his momentum but his broken form would be easy prey for anybody coming to finish him off.

"I swear, I don't know!" shouted Kreen. His words echoed in the empty chamber. "I was contracted to raid the city with enough force so that the Jedi would get involved." He squirmed uselessly as he felt his feet leave the broken floor tiles.

"How could they be sure it wouldn't be the military or some other Republic force?"

"They…they made sure to tell us that the attacks had to be sporadic. That the Republic would consider it too much of a risk to send a large detachment of forces to track down a mobile unit." He grimaced as he recollected his feinting fallback tactics which had worked so well before. Apparently, the Jedi were smarter than he gave them credit for.

"So they assumed the Jedi would just come here one by one to be lined up for slaughter?"

"They thought more of you would come, yes!" the commander said in a panicked voice. "They wanted to capture enough of you so they could take them back to wherever the hell they came from."

"For what?" He shook the commander like a rag doll above the death trap.

"They-They said something about needing materials for experimentation! That they wanted to get something from their bodies!"

Kreen raise his arms to wide to either side of his body in mute appeal. "Look, I know you're here to avenge your friends. In the same position I would probably do the sam-gurk!" One of the black gauntleted arms had snaked out to grab him by the throat.

His legs kicked out uselessly from under him. "I didn't know you would be so literal about it." He gasped out choking for air.

The ghastly apparition seemed to hesitate slightly as if considering his words. Suddenly, the figure withdrew from the huge void he had created and brought Kreen back on solid ground. He sighed in relief thinking that the worst is over. The Vurk panted raggedly, his face towards the floor.

Kreen barely had time to glance back up to see a gauntleted fist rushing up to meet his unprotected face.

* * *

Ailene crept up from her hiding place after she saw Revan knock the mercenary out cold.

"That was…kind of you" said Ailene. She had fully expected Revan to run the wretch through.

"This man is the leader of the mercenaries." He pointed at the engravings on the prone figure's armor. "I recognized the etchings on his person when he walked in." Revan looked back at Ailene his face grim.

"This person has a lot to answer for. To the city. Its civilians."

She glanced back at the commander. It was hard to believe this pathetic creature had destroyed so many lives with literally the flick of his wrist or a word.

"You're right" Ailene said. "Death is too good for him". She was surprised by her own words and the emotion behind it. The events of the night were starting to catch up to her.

Revan pulled out the fibre cables he had used earlier to tie Ailene's hands up. He used them now to bind the unconscious Vurk's hands and feet. Revan positioned the mercenary into a fetal position so all his limbs were bound with the same rope. A dirty rag of cloth discarded on the floor was used to gag the prisoner's mouth.

"I think its best now if you stay here" said Revan. Ailene felt a sudden lurch of apprehension in her gut. She didn't want to be alone again, no matter how empty the complex was now.

"The remaining enemy is too dangerous for you to be in close proximity. I would be risking your life unnecessarily." He said solemnly.

"But.."

"Trust me when I say this" Revan placed a placating hand on her shoulder. "The foe I engage now are not to be trifled with…and I think you've placed yourself in enough mortal danger for one night."

Ailene looked distraught but didn't know what else to say.

"I'm proud of you." Revan said suddenly. His voice sounded genuinely pleased. "Not many people could have weathered the events of this night as well as you. I knew my faith was not misplaced." He had taken his hood off again when he said this and for the first time Ailene saw him give her a real smile.

She felt herself blushing again like the first time they had met.

"Thank you sir…I guess I feel the same way." The words sounded absurd when they came out.

"I'll be back for you when this is all over. This I promise you." He gave one more bow to her before stalking off into the darkness.

Ailene stood there for a long moment not sure what to do. She looked at the unconscious form laying securely on the cold dirty floor. While she supposed she should be relieved that her life was no longer in mortal danger, Ailene couldn't shake off the nagging feeling that she was abandoning Revan by staying here. All the times he had risked his life now to liberate this facility and she was sitting the last leg of it out. Never mind that Revan was trained to deal with this situation and she was just a lowly equerry on some mothball world.

_No_ she thought. _This is about seeing things through to the end._ _This is about loyalty. _She was surprised at those words. Loyalty to a person she'd just met the other day. No one could inspire that in such a short amount of time, surely? Despite these words to herself though, Ailene found herself moving towards the dark corridor into the depths of abyss to follow the Jedi Knight.

* * *

The uppermost floor was a dismal area of wide empty space, its equipment cleared out to accommodate the commander's retinue and their 'honored' guests. Only the most important functional materials were left in this place, weapon racks, workstations for the central command centre. At the very back of this level was the lair of the Sith Lords itself, separated by a narrow drilled tunnel dug deep into the mountain rock.

It was on a winding set of stairs that a lone silent figure crept up slowly on to reach this final destination in the complex. The lights on this level were dimmed a dull red, the lighting periodically punctuated by flickering lights from the erratically blinking control consoles. The only sound heard was a faint static hiss from the abandoned communications console.

The lone traveller seemed to glide across the abandoned chamber. When he was about halfway in, the lights suddenly switched on to a full glare, eliminating any cover that the person might have had. He halted his movement immediately.

A deep rasping laugh echoed across the hall. It was a laugh choking with contempt. Or maybe it was a cough, the horrible sound grating on the nerves.

Two figures dressed entirely in black emerged from the other side of the hall, walking slowly from the cover of two pillars. One was tall and lithe, her movements graceful, designed to highlight the curves of her body. Her skin was blood red with dark designs plastered all across her body. Her yellow eyes flashed like some feline predator.

The other one was a hulking monstrosity, his face an utter mess. Scars criss-crossed the entire length of his snarling visage, sickly fluids dripping down his chin. His shoulders heaved like some demented animal. The grating noise was coming from the hole in his face. This was punctuated by some exaggerated clapping from his callused hands.

The figure in the centre of the room did not react in the slightest to their taunting approach.

"A fine display" said the monster in black. "Did you take pleasure, in ending those worthless lives? To hear their cries of terror as they took their last gasping breaths?"

He licked his lips to wipe up some of the sickly fluid. "I know I did."

When the other figure didn't reply the Sith continued undaunted. "I believe introductions are in order." He made a dramatic bow. With his proportions, it looked like a grotesque caricature of a hunchback.

"You have the honor of being in the presence of Excrutiatus, Deathclaw, Master of Torments…I could go on, but I forget myself."

He brought a sweeping hand back to the point at his alluring companion. "This is Vreeshar, Mistress of Forbidden Pleasures, The Shy Maiden." He laughed that hacking phlegm filled laugh again. "I do so love irony."

The Twi'lek made a dramatic bow, giving a good look of her cleavage to the target of their mockery. She raised her face up and showed a flensing smile.

"But one thing I enjoy more than irony is blood." Excrutiatus twisted his lips in an approximation of a rictus grin. "And I find nothing more appealing right now than spilling yours all over this pristine white floor after I have taken your head as a trophy."

"Now!" he shouted raising his hands up in the air like some showboater at a gladiator tournament. "I believe it is only polite that you give us your name. Let us see what the infamous Jedi Knight who has killed a hundred wastrels this night has to call himself."

Excrutiatus extended a claw like hand towards the central person in the room in invitation. The man stirred at this development.

"I don't tell dead people my name." came the even reply.

Excrutiatus gave a roar of laughter. "Such pomp and arrogance! I will enjoy gutting you to feast on your innards." He pointed at the stranger. "The uptight ones are always the most…delectable."

Vreeshar chuckled in that mellifluous voice of hers. "You must be so tired of living in such a dull and drab existence." She eyed her prey hungrily. "I could teach you a lesson or two before passing you over to my friend."

The hooded figure turned slightly towards her.

"And you must not be as powerful as you claim to be." He said dismissively.

"And why is that?" Vreeshar asked with an archly raised eyebrow.

"You're not nearly ugly enough to be a Sith. Try scarring your face a couple of times." His own voice now had the tone of mockery.

Vreeshar's face twisted in sudden anger.

"In fact." He continued. "Why don't I give you a hand with that." The stranger flexed his right gauntleted hand.

The Twi'lek hissed at the transparent threat.

"I'm afraid" said Excrutiatus almost quietly. "You won't get the chance." Gone was the ugly humor in his voice. It had returned to the molten anger simmering at the brink of eruption.

"You will die" he growled. "by my blade. Howling in agony as I twist the point through your gut. While I rip off the skin on your face. While I drink the spurting blood from your jugular." Excrutiatus stepped forward now his lightsaber drawn but not ignited.

"You will die, for violating our sanctuary and for all the inconvenience you have caused." His voice gradually got louder, rising to a snarl

Excrutiatus positioned himself in a fighting stance bringing his lightsaber to the ready. Both hands clasped the dark iron shaft, the sword held vertically in front of him, feet squared.

"You will die, because as a Sith there is nothing we hate more in this galaxy than a Jedi Knight!" The words vibrated across the chamber. "And hate" he growled in a lisping drawl. "Is holy to the Sith."

There was no more that needed to be said. The next few moments were ritual, repeated across an untold number battlefields among the stars, for countless millennia. The figure in grey in the middle of the room slowly took out his own lightsaber to point directly at his opponent. He drew it with both hands in a dramatic flourish to the left side close to his face, his right foot leading. A sudden hush descended across the room the anticipation gradually reaching a unbearable crescendo. Both lightsabers ignited almost in unison, so ingrained was the instinct of fighting for these two warriors. The two most distinct spectrum of colors lighted the room, the angry red that was the universal humor of all Sith. The cold blue of the Jedi, calm and centered. The hum of the two weapons permeated the entire chamber, the discharge of its energy crackling in the air.

Nobody spoke.

Nobody moved.

The spell was dismissed just as suddenly as it settled. Excrutiatus bellowed a war cry. It was guttural and vibrated from the core of his very being echoing like the cries of a thousand tortured souls.

It would have shaken the most stalwart warriors to their very core. To the figure in grey though, it only drew a sneer that was not seen by anyone.

The Sith Lord charged, his blade raised high with murderous intent.

The two swords clashed in a fiery discharge of sparks and thunderous noise.


	10. Chapter 10 The Battle

Vreeshar watched the events of the battle unfold before her. Exrutiatus had led with his typical ferocity, slashing with what was seemingly with wild abandon. The truth was that each strike was perfectly placed for a potential killing blow or done to put the opponent's guard off. Eventually, his opponent would slip up and Excrutiatus would butcher him like some prey beast. Many thought Excrutiatus a mindless animal (herself included at one point) but behind his savage mask was a monster of animal cunning and guile. She wouldn't describe him as smart by any definition but he definitely had a natural instinct for finding weakness.

It was the reason he was the Master of Torments.

Despite the almost assured outcome, Vreeshar felt uncomfortable. They had stalked the various corridors with the Blooded to find the supposedly overwhelming number of opponents, but to their mounting surprise and anger, they had only seen mercenary corpses and no Jedi. She had surmised that a small infiltration team had stormed the complex. If that was the case, the Sith had nothing to worry about, they could deal with six or seven Jedi. It was not until they heard the cacophony on the fourth floor and heard the voices on the fifth where they discovered one lone individual interrogating the wretched incompetent commander. Vreeshar was sure there had to be more in the vicinity but when he had stalked off alone after exchanging words with the pathetic weakling girl, they were convinced.

A lone Jedi Knight had infiltrated the complex and laid waste to almost all its inhabitants.

She had almost laughed at that moment, potentially ruining their hidden location in the corridors beyond the exit of the chamber. She had wanted to engage the wretch right then and there and take the flimsy female as a new personal plaything. Excrutiatus had refused point plank.

"He will die where I can see the color of his blood, not in some dark corridor" were his exact words. Vreeshar didn't want to push the issue. They had retreated quickly back to their upper sanctum in favor of meeting the Jedi on their terms rather than waste time capturing the girl. In truth there was little to risk anyways. After Excruciatus disposed of the whelp and she caught the girl, there would be no way for the Jedi to trace the source of the disturbances. They might have to move to a more secure location and find more mercenaries but that was never the issue.

The galaxy was filled with fodder to die at the beck and call of the Sith.

She turned her attention back at the battle on hand and what she saw impressed her.

While Excruciatus fought with savage fury, there was no finesse to his movements, no beauty. His opponent on the other hand was a different story. The Jedi's form was graceful and flowing, weaving in and out of reach from Excrutiatus' blade. Each parry was launched at the precise moment, deflecting each strike to the side harmlessly. Sometimes the red blade seemed to barely miss the opponent's flesh but Vreeshar's experienced eye saw the truth. He was using subtle, minimal movements to deflect the attacks with no more energy than was necessary, the perfect economy of motion. Vreeshar's could appreciates such grace and skill in his movements even if they were sworn enemies.

_I believe I'm getting turned on_ she thought licking her lips.

The blades clashed in a constant ringing of sparks and noise, like an undying wail of anguish. Normal bystanders would have been blinded by the constant flashing light from the impact.

Excrutiatus was always leading, slashing: high, low, low again – before leading with a lunging thrust. His opponent deflected the first and second, and jumped back from the third. At the lunge he sidestepped and slashed his own lightsaber at the charging form flying past him. A flash of blue light and a hiss was followed by an angry grunt from Excrutiatus.

His black robes were torn on his right arm, smoke billowing from the wound.

_First blood to the Jedi_ thought Vreeshar dryly.

"You will endure countless agonies for that whelp" Excrutiatus snarled.

He renewed his attacks with a possessed fury rarely seen by any outside of his brethren.

Vreeshar realized that something else was disturbing her thoughts. As a disciple of the force and Sith, she could sense the presence of all living beings within her vicinity. Every organic had a force signature. From the mighty Sith Lord to the lowly beggar crawling in some wretched hive of scum. It binded life itself together in a harmony of energy and emotion.

Vreeshar was particularly adept at sensing the force signature of others, reading their aura as easily as other species could perceive the spectrum of colors. Among the Sith, it always ranged from the simmering bitter energy to the titanic maelstrom that blew around Excrutiatus now. Among Jedi it was like looking at the eye of a tornado – silent and calm at the inside but brimming with a sturdy and impenetrable energy from the exterior.

From the opponent Excrutiatus fought right now, she sensed nothing.

Vreeshar frowned, unsure why she couldn't even feel the slightest hint of the Jedi's aura. It was almost as if…he wasn't there. Like some ghostly echo of some previous living being.

The constant ringing brought her out of her reverie again. Excrutiatus had driven his opponent into a corner, ready to deliver the killing blow. He roared in triumph as his blade descended with the force of a mountainslide.

His opponent met the blade head on with his own weapon.

A loud thunderclap vibrated across the chamber the two blades screeching in protest. The Sith's momentum was effectively halted like a ship suddenly adrift after being vomited out of a hyperspace jump. He growled in frustration trying to force the blade closer to his enemy's face, but it was if he had struck a mountain for all the good it did. For a brief moment their eyes locked together, illuminated by each of their blades. Excrutiatus's eyes were narrow slits of obsidian twisted in malice and hate. The Jedi's eyes were hard and determined, the animosity behind them unrelenting.

Suddenly the cloaked figure jerked his form back to bring his left food on the back of the wall bringing Excrutiatus with him. Gaining leverage, he launched himself upward, breaking the stalemate of the two weapons and somersaulted in the air. Excrutiatus was thrown off balance while his opponent landed in perfect coordination behind his back. The Sith barely had time to dodge as his enemy's vicious strike carved a fair sized hole in the wall where he had been moments before.

The momentum of battle had shifted then and it was Excrutiatus on the defensive. The cloaked figure never gave the Sith a chance to properly recover. He rained blows like a thousand swords descending from the sky on his retreating opponent.

A high left then sweeping right combination was followed by a horizontal swipe. Excrutiatus barely had time to parry each one. His last deflection was hastily put up to protect the left side of his neck, his held sword slackly without much weight behind it. His weak defense was punished with a scathing follow through thrust to his face. Excrutiatus roared in pain as agonizing heat seared his already withered flesh.

Vreeshar smirking gaze disappeared suddenly not so confident of the outcome. The Sith lord was definitely hurt now backpedaling and half blinded. He swiped wildly to deter his unrelenting opponent but that left his guard wide open. Slashes and thrusts got through more easily now, cutting through his robes to burn through skin and muscle.

A lunging thrust brought the Jedi beneath the Sith Lord's guard. Excrutiatus snarled and grabbed his opponent's sword hand, attempting to jerk him off balance and cut him down with his lightsaber.

Before the Sith could bring his sword to bear, the Jedi's own free hand had curled into a fist and pistoned into Excrutatus horrid face. Bones cracked and black liquid spurted freely as the Jedi hammered blow after blow into his victim's head until Excrutiatus let go of his wrist.

Stunned and blinded, he didn't see the arcing blade aim for his chest before it was too late.

He lunged backwards desperately but the deadly slash cut through his robes and flesh lighting all his senses on fire.

Excrutiatus screamed now, not the exultant war cry after a decisive victory but like an animal in his death throes. He collapsed in a useless pile steaming from his many wounds, his lightsaber deactivating. He choked out dark blood and coughed out ragged breaths.

A shadow descended over him. The Jedi had raised his lightsaber, in final judgement to his defeated foe. His face was still hidden but the determined focus of his intent was obvious.

The lightsaber arced down in a flash of cold blue light.

* * *

Before the weapon could bisect its intended foe, lashing tentacles of purple lightning erupted between the Jedi and his victim. The cloaked figure turned sharply to see the Twi'lek's left hand outstretched, her gaze filled with malice. A lightsaber was held in her right hand.

"I know there is a certain etiquette during combat" she hissed. "But you are really starting to become a wretched nuisance."

The Jedi never took his gaze off her as she drew out another blade, a twin to her first.

"You bested Excrutatus" she said slowly, "But he is a blunt instrument, a rampaging hurricane unsuited to battle where actual skill is needed."

She started sauntering towards her target.

"Someone like you" she continued "needs a person of subtlety…finesse" She smiled to reveal bone white teeth.

The pair began to circle each other like caged animals. "I would promise to make this quick." She pointed her right weapon at her opponent.

"But I do so love to toy with my food."

Without waiting for an answer, she suddenly exploded in motion rushing towards her opponent, a whirling dervish of blades and cruelty.

* * *

Ailene had crept up slowly on the stairs afraid to approach at the increasingly loud din. From her point of view it almost seemed like there was an army's worth of blaster discharge going on in the floor above. She crouched low gradually ascending to the top floor in order to see the source of the noise. What she saw then was the most beautiful and terrifying thing in her life.

Two figures were embroiled in a furious dance of blades, a blur of blue and red with a flashing white punctuating each strike. Ailene blinked furiously at the jarring image, but could not take her eyes away from the scene. If swordplay could be considered an art, this would be the highest form of it. The Twi'lek moved like an exotic dancer, each blade in her two hands weaving in and out around her body. She slashed high then low, low again, spinning to keep her furious pace. It was an unrelenting barrage of vicious strikes designed to find an opening and cut the foe into ribbons.

Revan adopted his customary two handed grip. He met the blades with his own blur of motion, lightning quick in perfect synchronization with his feet.

_This is it. This is what the stories were talking about_

And indeed the drama was unfolding like those told in her childhood. Here was a champion of righteous cause, a defender of the Republic fighting a vile foe in direct combat, his lighsaber a glorious beacon of light. His movements were beautiful, in perfect harmony with his surroundings, anticipating the pitch and flow of battle as naturally as breathing.

Ailene gasped as he leapt and rolled to avoid a red blade that slithered out to miss him by a hair's width.

The female pressed her attack, trying to exploit any weakness. A double thrust was followed by dual vicious swipes, tracing a vicious X shape in the air. The two red blades locked on to the glowing blue one. The red warrior didn't wait for a locking stalemate, but kicked out viciously at Revan's groin. He staggered slightly and Vreeshar leapt after him. A right thrust almost impaled him but was knocked back at the last moment.

The Sith spun and slashed at his head. Revan ducked and kicked out with his own boot, striking the enemy's abdomen, winding her.

Both combatants leapt away after the exchange.

"Exquisite." The female laughed as she started circling again. "I have not felt such pleasure in such as long time." The thrill in her voice was evident.

"The passion in that scene was worthy of two intimate lovers wouldn't you agree?" She licked her lips laviciously. When Revan didn't reply she laughed a seductive laugh. "Come now, come now my love, won't you give me this next dance?"

Her predatory gaze returned.

"I promise a lot of foreplay before the main event."

She rushed suddenly, breaking off her taunting.

Revan braced for the oncoming onslaught but Ailene saw him shift suddenly and dodge to the side just in time as another black smoking form pounced down where he had been.

Ailene gazed in horror at the monster draped in tattered black rags, his eyes insane with rage. He waved a blood red blade wildly in the air.

The Twi'lek hissed in frustration. "What are you doing fool?"

"Curse you, you filthy whoreson!" the monster snarled. "I will feed you to the vermin!" He charged wildly swinging his lightsaber with wild abandon.

The female cursed loudly in a language Ailene didn't recognize. She saw her hesitate then follow her unpredictable companion in pressing the attack.

* * *

Vreeshar was both surprised and angered at this sudden development. Excrutiatus had miraculously recovered enough to attack the Jedi, but his moves were sluggish and haphazard. The Jedi would make short work of him unless she intervened. She briefly thought about letting the Jedi dispose of him but the wrath of Lord Mreth dissuaded her from that notion. She tried to flank the Jedi but the combatant's erratic movements made it difficult to position herself and Excrutiatus kept cutting her off.

She stabbed where there were openings between the fighting pair but they were haphazard attempts at best with no coordination with her vicious ally whatsoever. Their opponent easily deflected all of the clumsy attacks.

Excrutiatus was bellowing a continuous stream of curses which would have made any Sith Lord proud. It was punctuated by heavy grunts as his sluggish figure lumbered around. The Jedi danced around sending devastating cuts as he constantly charged by.

The scarred monster must have sensed the imminent conclusion of his current predicament because he gave up all pretense of defense and bull rushed the Jedi. A wicked thrust caught his shoulder, but with hate and fury the Sith bellowed mindlessly and charged on.

His opponent was knocked back in surprise as the savage form bowled into him. He staggered, his footing lost, skidding on the smooth floor stunned.

Suddenly it was the Jedi prone on the floor with the Sith Lord rushing to tower over him. Vreeshar gave an exultant snarl of triumph, thinking Excrutiatus would deal the deathblow. She thought she heard a cry of terror from the back of the room but was too entranced at the unfolding scene to look away.

The Sith Lord raised his lightsaber with both hands, shrieking with bloodlust and charging at his victim.

Vreeshar noticed suddenly that the Jedi was brining one foot under himself for balance, not as stunned as he initially led them to believe.

"Look out!"

Excrutiatus was too consumed with rage to hear the warning. "You're flesh will be mine! I will feast on your eyeballs, I-"

The Jedi bounded up from his prone position like a coiled snake, swinging his blue blade in an arc of light at his opponent's neck.

The Sith Lord's words were lost as his throat was literally torn from his neck. A huge smoking crater appeared where his throat used to be.

Excrutiatus couldn't even gasp. Vile liquid spurted out in all directions as he landed bodily on the cold ground covered in his own fluids. He thrashed wildly clawing at his throat with rapidly diminishing strength.

"You talk too much." Said the Jedi.

With a final ragged heave of his chest, Excrutatus, Dark Lord of the Sith slumped on the floor his eyes starring lifelessly at the ceiling.

* * *

Vreeshar saw and felt the Sith Lord's death as keenly as a sword being stabbed through her chest. With her sensitivity to the force and emotions, she felt the death throes more keenly than a bolt of lightning. The Twi'lek screamed in rage and pain staggering momentarily.

She whipped her hateful gaze to the rapidly approaching figure.

"You." She spat, bringing her blades to bear. The remaining Sith slashed wildly meeting the Jedi in a furious onslaught.

Unlike her previous pinpoint strikes, her attacks were unfocused and sloppy. Hate and anger clouded her thoughts in a red haze. All she could think of was clawing the eyes out of the bastard that had dared to take a Sith Lord's life.

The Jedi calmly parried each strike, deflecting them wide with lightning strikes. Vreeshar pressed all her strength into each blow, too maddened to care about defense.

Suddenly the opening became clear.

Vreeshar lunged with her right lightsaber. Instead of parrying it, the Jedi simply sidestepped causing her to overextend herself. Before she could recover her balance, the Jedi grabbed her thrusting arm and jerked it back.

Vreeshar saw the Jedi bring his own sword in a downward arc but was powerless to stop it. She tried to deflect with her other but the gleaming blue blade came on inexorably.

The strike severed her hand at the joint.

The agony was like nothing she had experienced before. Even the recent death of Excrutiatus paled in comparison to the pain in her wrist. She screamed then, a banshee's wail that jarred the eardrums. Vreeshar couldn't form any semblance of resistance as the Jedi wrenched her to face him directly.

His head snapped forward.

A loud crunch was heard and her nose splayed into her face, a shattered mess. Cartilage snapped and blood spurted messily into her eyes. The Sith collapsed in a ragged heap.

Her consciousness was fading, her vision rapidly diminishing as darkness took her. Her last vision was of the Jedi standing over her, his features still hidden.

"You're welcome" he said coldly referring to his earlier remark about being too pretty.

Vreeshar's world descended into darkness.


	11. Chapter 11 The Interrogation

Ailene rushed out to meet Revan who had straightened after knocking yet another foe unconscious.

At her approaching footsteps, Revan turned back, his expression bemused.

She belatedly remembered she was supposed to stay with their captive but she was too relieved to care.

"I'm so glad you're alright" she panted out. Watching the entire fight had exhausted her.

"I'm glad that I'm alright as well" he responded dryly. His face became humorous. "Forget something?"

"I-Well" she stammered. She couldn't possibly tell him that she was afraid to be alone after all the praise he had heaped on her before.

"Nevermind, I'm glad you're here"

Ailene beamed.

"I need you to help me search this bastard's body"

"Oh" Ailene's smile faded, wrong footed again. She glanced at the red prone figure lying unceremoniously on the floor like a drunken whore. She looked like she had been beaten viciously and raped a couple hundred times.

"Do-do you really need me to do that?" She asked nervously. Just looking at the body made her uncomfortable.

"It would be unconscionable for me to do it" Revan replied. "to touch a female like that"

Ailene couldn't tell if he was joking or not. She got the distinct feeling this was punishment for not staying back. Reluctantly she groped the fallen Twi'lek's inert form, searching her for any hidden weapons or valuable items.

When she got to the…womanly areas, she closed her eyes and bit her bottom lip before continuing.

Revan pointedly looked away from the whole ordeal while he shifted through the other corpse.

Together they found about a dozen hidden implements of pain, ranging from knives to screws and poison darts. Some objects looked so bizarre that Ailene didn't even want to think what they were for. Some credits and a dataslate were also found in her pockets. Ailene handed the dataslate to Revan who took the item and concealed it under his robes.

"Thank you" said Revan before kneeling next to the battered form. He grabbed the Twi'lek's head and suddenly rammed his gloved fingers into her mouth. Ailene started in surprise at the development as he twisted around looking for something.

The victim gave a soft moan of pain.

He wrenched his hand back out suddenly to reveal a tiny capsule. Revan tossed it away. "Most assassin's I've encountered like to keep one of those" he remarked. "In case they ever get into situations like these"

Ailene looked at the now completely unarmed female lying on the floor.

"What are we going to do now?" she asked.

"We" said Revan grimly "are going to get some real answers."

* * *

A hard slap to the face brought the Vreeshar back to world of pain. She coughed and sucked in rancid air through her mouth. She couldn't breath at all through the ruin that had been her nose. In her current state, she bore a striking resemblance to Excrutiatus. Above her loomed the wretched Jedi that had bested her in battler. She couldn't seen the face but Vreeshar was sure he was scowling at her.

"Is your Master the only one left?" He said without preamble.

"How can you be sure I'm not the Master?" she sneered. Despite her predicament, Vreeshar's haughty nature was not cowed. It was strange for her to be in the opposite position she had placed so many victims though.

"The equation is simple" said the figure grimly. "The longer this takes, the more pain you will feel. Also your markings indicate you are subservient to another of your kind"

He jabbed a gloved finger at her neck were a claw like symbol intertwined with a jagged chain like pattern.

Vreeshar briefly considered lying but so no point to it.

"My Lord is here" she hissed. "He will make you pay dearly for your trespasses."

The figure's gesture told her he had heard it all before.

"Where are the Jedi?"

She spat weakly in the direction of his face, more blood than saliva.

"What did I just tell you before?" asked her captor.

"You wouldn't dare Republic lapdog." Sneered Vreeshar. "Your kind cannot stomach for torture."

Her interrogator looked back the corpse lying across the hallway. "I left him to die quite painfully, didn't I?"

He glanced back down. "In fact, I could just kill you and find them on my own eventually." Despite the Jedi's noble reputation, Vreeshar found she believed his words.

"You can't get to them" she growled. "They're sealed in the back rooms… and all the doors through the tunnels are sealed by keycodes."

The figure knelt down and grabbed her torn vest. "Open them."

She laughed raggedly. "What do you hope to accomplish fool? My master will turn you into a screaming pile of flesh." She wondered briefly why Lord Mreth had not appeard yet to kill the Jedi.

"Fine." The figure raised his lightsaber to strike her head off.

"Wait, wait!" she struggled weakly. The lightsaber did not strike but remained in a ready position.

"I will open the doors to our inner sanctum." She gasped "If you promise to let me live."

"Not good enough." He raised his blade higher.

"W-What do you want then? You just said –"

He leaned in close, and Vreeshar felt a chill in her blood. She shivered.

"You will tell me everything you're blighted kind are doing. Why you're here, what you planned to do with the prisoners. Everything."

"And trust me," he gave her a predatory whisper. "I'll know if you're lying."

Vreeshare briefly considered his offer. When she found no alternative she spat.

"Fine."

* * *

Ailene watched as Revan propped the Sith to the side of the wall so she could speak better. The blood had stopped spurting from her face, but her words were slurred and weak.

"Speak quickly before I tire of this." she hissed.

"First the prisoners." He jerked his thumb back. "Slaves?"

"Most of them the Twi'lek admitted. Some were for more…visceral pleasures."

Ailene almost spat at her in disgust. "Are all your kind so degenerate?"

The Twi'lek glared up at her. Ailene huddled protectively behind Revan.

"Be glad your little lapdog is here" she snareld. "I would-"

Revan grabbed her by the throat, making her gag.

"Focus. Where did you come from?"

He released his grip. The female choked briefly.

"Not from any part of space you know fool."

"You are not part of the Sith in the Galactic Core? What about Korriban?"

The prisoner laughed contemptuously. "Pretenders, what use do we have for them? No, we come from beyond the veil."

"The Unknown Regions." Revan stated flatly.

Something his voice made Ailene cringe.

"Just so." She looked up defiantly. "None of your kind could survive a galactic cycle there."

Revan stared at her for along moment until she looked away uncomfortably.

"Now the important question. Why are you here and why did you take the Jedi hostage?"

"Why do you think you moron?" she snapped "We obviously want to expand our domain. The vanguard of a larger force."

Revan sighed in annoyance. "That's a half truth if I ever heard one. You wouldn't show your hand to the Jedi unless you wanted to risk them sensing your presence."

He leaned forward again.

"The truth now – or I make sure no surgery will save that previously perfect symmetrical face." He gestured to some of her own implements of torture a short distance away.

The female swallowed deciding not to press her luck. "We needed the Jedi…to unlock our potential."

Revan waited for her to continue.

"Force sensitive beings are a breed apart. It is believed that through genetic manipulation, and psycho indoctrination we could enhance the potential of the Sith."

She licked her lips. "But we needed…fodder to experiment on. Not common rabble but force sensitive beings." She gave a mirthless laugh.

Some of my…brethren volunteered and underwent transformation with vastly unpredictable results. We would run out of too many able bodies before anything useful could be produced."

She shrugged indifferently.

"Using the Jedi as fodder seemed like the best course of action."

Ailene could tell Revan was unconvinced. "I find it hard to believe your kind only thought of experimenting now. Scientists have always tried to further the genome of different species."

He looked down again. "Which means, that somebody made a discovery to warrant such drastic measures."

Revan stared at her again, his dark eyes piercing her defiant stare from behind his hood.

"Who is this person?"

The Twi'lek glared but didn't answer.

Revan gripped the stump of her hand, applying only a slight pressure to her wound. It was enough for Vreeshar to scream, blood flowing freely again on the floor. Ailene cringed at the horrid development.

"I won't ask again." Revan said evenly.

"I-I don't know the bastard's name." she hissed through gritted teeth. He..came to the Masters of my cult. Only *cough* only talked to them. Offered…his services." It was clear to both Revan and Ailene that she wouldn't stay lucid much longer in her current condition.

Revan continued to kneel for a few seconds at this latest development. He looked up at Ailene in concern.

"If what this wretch says is true, then I must find the other Jedi immediately before they can be ferried away." He said gravely.

Ailene nodded before she noticed his use of the pronoun. "I'm coming with you sir." She said emphatically.

"I'm grateful Ailene, I really am," he placed both hands on her shoulders. "But this isn't about bravery." Revan turned his glare back to the Twi'lek.

"I need to get her to open the back doors and kill her Master. This doesn't leave any room for mistakes. The Sith Lord could take you hostage or kill you just to spite me." He gave her a sad smile.

"And I would hate to lose you now, after all we've done together."

Ailene shook her head. "I'll keep myself hidden sir, way in the back and I promise I won't do anything stupid." A sudden thought came to her.

"And besides, if you die, it's pretty much the end me as well right?"

Revan nodded reluctantly conceding the point. "Very well, you do me much honor." He gave her a deep tilt of his head in respect.

A few quick strides took him back to the prisoner. He yanked her back to her feet.

"Let's go. Move quickly, do what I say and you won't die by my hand."

Vreeshar cursed again in that ugly tongue of hers but followed obediently enough.

She half walked, half limped as the Jedi hauled her across the room towards the dark hole at the end of the wall.

* * *

Vreeshar's thoughts were a curious mixture of hate, fear and anticipation.

She still burned with rage at the ignoble defeat at the hands of this bastard. The fact that he had destroyed her immaculate features only added fuel to that inferno. She thought of a hundred different ways she would have liked to kill the Jedi that was dragging her through the tunnels like a slave but was powerless to resist.

The dominant emotion though was fear.

She had failed in the most catastrophic way possible. Not only had she not managed to stop the Jedi from invading their domain, she had let him slaughter all their resources and destroyed months of careful planning. Even if the Jedi was killed, she could see no way her life would not be forfeit. Lord Mreth would apply every skill in his arsenal to ensure her death would be prolonged and exquisitely painful as anyone could ever imagine. She could only hope feebly that he found her worthy enough of a quick death.

Her only solace in all this was in knowing that Lord Mreth would make short work of this upstart Jedi. He was powerful she admitted, but a true Master of the Sith was beyond the feeble abilities anyone in the Jedi Order could hope to match. Her eyes burned in anticipation of the coming bloodbath.


	12. Chapter 12 The Revelation

_The past is always with us._

_-Master Vandar  
_

* * *

Even as she unlocked the door codes one by one leading into their private lair, she smiled inwardly knowing that she was leading the pair to their death.

Once they got close to the final door leading to the inner chamber, Revan gestured for Ailene to stay hidden in the corner. She nodded and crept to a side pillar, the weapon Revan had given her drawn.

With a final jerk, he told the Twi'lek to open the final door. She did so and doors swung inward silently. It was darker than the void of space. The pair walked into the purveying darkness.

At first Vreeshar thought she must have been blinded but gradually a dark blue light began to illuminate the room. It was a cave dug into by the previous occupants of the facility, a secret chamber used for storing sensitive materials such as credits and personal items. Various illicit activities also occurred here but no-one that remained alive on the world knew of them.

This was the throne room of The Master of the Talon Cult.

Revan walked slowly into the chamber his arm still firmly secured around his prisoners neck, his lightsaber pressed into her back. In the middle of the room was a dais with a huge metal chair. Various command consoles and instruments were built into either arm of the chair, evidently designed for the Sith Lord's use. Flashing monitors were raised to either side. It was unoccupied at the moment but Revan could detect a faint smell in the air. It was a sickening smell, like a rotting corpse and it violated the senses with its lingering touch.

"Greetings Jedi"

Revan looked around the room sharply but could not see the figure that spoke the words. He stopped moving though, silently preparing to dodge at the faintest indication of trouble.

A figure suddenly appeared from behind the hulking chair. He was tall and gaunt, as much an apparition of death as Revan was in the floors below. A faint rasping sound emanated from the breathing apparatus that covered everything below his eyes. Nothing was visible below the neck, like a gaping wound in the fabric of reality.

Dead eyes stared back at him.

"Vreeshar" said the figure. "I believe you understand the weight behind your transgressions towards this mission."

Revan glanced back to see the Twi'lek cowering her head down in shame. "Yes my master…" she whispered. Her voice had an unstable timbre to it.

"I only ask that you allow me to watch as you bleed the life out of this wretch who did us so much injury." Vreeshar tried to jerk back and glare at Revan but he held her firmly in front.

A long uncomfortable silence followed.

"I see no reason," said the gaunt figure "to honor that request." He stood in front of his throne pronouncing judgment. "You reap what you sow Vreeshar and what you have done is deserving only the most painful death imaginable. He held up a long bony hand at the pair.

Revan braced for any upcoming attack but he realized that the Sith Lord was not focusing on him. Nevertheless the sudden discharge of power flung both of them off their feet. Revan was knocked roughly to the side by the sudden invisible impact, his body crushed into the side of the wall. He managed to land upright.

His erstwhile prisoner had not been so lucky. She hung now like a skinned animal on one of the walls, her form pressed into the hard stone. Her features were distorted in pain at the continuous pressure to her entire body.

"Master…" she rasped.

A horrid purple flash of light coiled out from the Sith Lord's hand. It struck Twi'lek bathing her in the same purple glow. In the next few moments, one of the most agonizing deaths in the galaxy occurred. Vreeshar's expression was one of horror and loathing. Her skin turned grey and then distorted in shape. Suddenly, a ripping noise could be heard as she screamed.

A flap of skin was ripped off her face.

Gradually more strips of skin began to tear off on their own volition. Blood gushed from the wounds spurting out in all directions. Her clothes came next, ripped off by some invisible predator. They became ragged strips of useless material on the floor.

When that was done, the remainder of her skin also peeled off. Next came her flesh, hunks of it being torn from her increasingly hallow body. They landed in a messy spread all across the room. It gradually revealed the blood covered bone of her being.

All this time, she screamed in an undulated monotone, like a droid whose processor had crashed. Her eyes, had turned into her skull. Intestines, and other organs left her frame in a similar violent haze of destruction. Suddenly, her body exploded in a viscera of blood and gore, showering the entire cave with the contents of her body.

It was literally raining Sith.

When it was over, the Sith Lord turned his attention back to Jedi in the room.

"Now" he said nonchantly as if all he did was dispose of some waste. "I believe you and I should talk."

* * *

If the whole display was meant to intimidate Revan, then he didn't show it. The Jedi walked calmly back to the centre of the room, without drawing his lightsaber. The Sith on the other hand had reclined back into the huge throne that dominated the room. He looked idly at the hand which had so casually taken the life of his former subordinate.

"It was impressive I admit" said the Sith Lord "What you managed to accomplish this night." Even with the eerie metallic tone in his voice, a cultured accent was apparent in it. "The deaths were quite…stimulating". While the Sith Lord had no expression to speak of, Revan knew he was enjoying this display.

"Excrutiatus" he said slowly. "How did he die?"

"In agony" replied the Jedi.

"Then I suppose I should thank you for that. He was ever the thorn in my side, utterly without discipline. I should have been more forceful in his…rehabilitation." The Sith Lord looked at the Jedi now in interest.

"Will you give me your name?"

"No"

"Ah, a pity then. I make it a habit to know other people's names. It is only polite when you address them." He put one hand under his chin while surveying the room in front of him.

"I suppose," he said softly "this is the part where you declare an oath to see me dead, to avenge the people of this world. That you do this for the Jedi and whatever other rhetoric you care to add." He looked bored as if this particular drama had unfolded thousands of times and always in his favor.

"Or I could kill you" he added almost as an afterthought.

"You could start by elaborating on what Vreeshar said to me earlier" replied Revan.

"The curious one then." Said the Sith Lord. "A refreshing trait in your drab order."

He stroked the command console on his throne. "Very well. I suppose I did ask for a change in this scenario." He held up a hand in invitation.

"What do you want to know?"

"You were approached by someone, who offered to augment your kind" said Revan slowly. "What made him so special? Genetic modification is hardly a new science."

The Sith looked away as if recollecting the memory. "We were approached by a man who knew secrets long thought dead. Of something that the Sith revere above all else."

"He required materials though…to perfect the art of what he needed to create. Flesh of the gifted, souls touched by the Force. His demands required…many sacrifices."

He glanced back at the Jedi. "To my subordinates, it was merely a chance to raid and pillage, in exchange for bodies for the experiments. The masters told them it was to help propagate the strength of the Sith, to augment their bodies. In a way I suppose it is true, although their transformations will pale in comparison to the true goal"

His eyes flashed suddenly, different from the pale lifelessness until now.

"To us, it was a chance to bring back one of the most defining forces in this galaxy."

"Which was?"

"A Sith Lord. The first True Sith Lord." The metallic voice held a tinge of emotion.

"What made him so special?"

"He was a messiah of sorts to our kind. The perfection of what it meant to be great in this galaxy. Sadly all powers pale in comparison to his divine might" The Sith actually sounded sad.

"You believe such a mythic being existed?"

"I don't merely believe Jedi, I know" replied the Sith. "Many of my kind do not believe or even know of this person. He came into being during a time of great turbulence and, strife some say millions of years ago."

He paused dramatically.

"Before the Sith were actually still a race."

"You're fantasy is as ludicrous as your face" replied Revan. "The Sith race originated from Korriban, where they eventually became extinct. You only wear their mantle by dint of your vices."

The Sith Lord ignored this. "I have seen the evidence. In the Sea of Strife, the void that the galaxy at large merely refers to as the Unknown Regions."

He turned suddenly his words more impassioned. "Why do you think we call that sector the unknown regions? Why has it never been charted? Powers that are beyond the Sith and Jedi lurk there human."

"You originate from the Unknown Regions" Revan pointed out.

"We are one of many forces" said the Sith. "Our power ensures we are never wiped out but that area of the galaxy brooks no master. Some of your kind think there is a hidden Empire there of our making." He chuckled at the thought. "It would be more accurate to say there are several dozens of empires if we are to use that term. The Sith are not known for unity."

"However" he said. "We are not the only ones that call that region our domain."

The Sith continued with his speech not waiting for the Jedi to react.

"From what I know, a great force once nearly eliminated the entire galaxy in a warpath of destruction. The Sith Lord…was the one who drove them back."

He turned his head back to Revan.

"Are you surprised Jedi? To know that one of the earliest saviors of this wretched existence was not one of your fabled kind, but one of the purest beings in the galaxy, the Sith Lord which I speak of now?" Revan could almost see him smiling behind his mask.

"Perhaps the Sith of Korriban were some inferior offshoot to his glorious being…or they simply took his title and emulated his ways the best as they could." He stopped his pacing.

"Either way, they were nothing, Nothing compared to what the Sith Lord was…and will be again."

"And this …paragon on virtue. You think this demented geneticist can re-create him?"

The Sith Lord shrugged. "Perhaps, perhaps not. But the work we do now will lay the foundation of our kind for the rest of our existence."

"A fine tale" said Revan. "But without any substance whatsoever." He pointed at his target.

"Enough, you will release the Jedi from your custody."

"Ah Jedi. Don't be so quick to dismiss my words. Are you not even curious how we managed to come to this blighted place and lure the Jedi – and to that effect you here?"

He leaned forward from his throne.

"You used the mercenary commander and his lackeys to stage guerilla warfare. The Jedi responded because they are the best suited to protecting the city."

"That is but only a part of it. We could not be sure it would be a Jedi unless we had a guarantee. And who can tell the Jedi to do anything ultimately?" The Sith Lord looked at Revan expectantly.

"You are suggesting…" said Revan. "that someone in my order forced the issue and ensured that the Jedi arrived here."

"Very good!" laughed the Sith. "You are a credit to your order." He nodded before continuing.

"Yes, the guarantee was made from your side." He put up an outstretched hand. "Before you ask I do not know the identity of this Jedi of yours. The scientist acted as our proxy. I daresay your traitor doesn't even know we exist."

"Why would this Jedi betray us?" demanded Revan.

The Sith Lord gave him a contemptuous stare.

"You're kind are so weak human. You play at being virtuous paragons but the truth is all your beings are tainted with vices."

The Sith rose from his throne and began to pace. "Hate, lust, these are as prevalent in your order as it is mine." Sweeping his hands, he continued.

"The Sith today owe their state of being to Jedi who saw the true power. How many Jedi do you think are lured to the dark side? How many Sith are redeemed?"

He chucked in his static monotone.

"I can assure you the ratio is significantly disproportionate."

He began to walk down the dais, pontificating as he went.

"You're last uprising was particularly grievous I heard. Exar Kun was it?"

Without waiting for an answer he continued. "How can the Republic rely on your order when they bleed out traitors like sand from your fingertips?"

"The answer and your order's salvation" said the Sith "was apparently in the scientist. Genetic modification was not his only specialty it seems. Through psycho-indoctrination, gene therapy and Force manipulation, the scientist claimed he could change an individual to anything he desired."

The Sith Lord looked squarely at Revan as he spoke the next words. "Imagine the ability to shape a person's mind to whatever you desired. To be a Jedi with unbreakable loyalty…or a tyrant of unimaginable cruelty."

He circled the Jedi now as he spoke. Revan for that matter stood as rigid as a statue while the Sith gave his speech.

"The scientist approached your Jedi with this offer. In exchange for the secrets to perfecting the Jedi's psyche, he would get the Jedi to experiment his theory on. Or so he promised. Our little scientist does love to play on both sides."

The Sith's amused stare came back.

"Your order must be very desperate to stem the tide it seems."

He finally stopped circling to stand in front of the Jedi again.

"And that Jedi," he said with a dramatic flourish "is why we are both standing here. Each of our associates has a stake in what occurs within the next few moments."

He pointed a clawed finger at his counterpart.

"Not so confident now in your order's virtues are you? These beings who play at being gods only to discard their kindred like fodder when the need arises."

Revan had remained silent throughout this whole ordeal. He looked up now at the Sith who had revealed the scope of the events before them.

"My order is imperfect." He admitted. "I have always known the truth of that. Warriors fall to their desires and insecurities, turning into monsters no better that those they once fought."

He paced slowly, keeping the Sith at a distance. "No living being is unbreakable. Everyone can fall. To deny that is to be self delusional."

"But," he said after a pause. "it is not through experiments like you described that the Jedi will find salvation. It is through the struggle, the ability to overcome their inner demons that true power is attained."

Revan had drawn his lightsaber. "While we remain to resist you and the traitors, the Republic will not fall. Through resilience and force of will can our order find redemption."

The Sith gave a rasping laugh.

"Very dramatic Jedi. In the end you trot out the same empty rhetoric that is so typical of your order."

"Of course," said Revan. "I am a Jedi Knight."

"And so the cycle continues." Said the Sith. "The constant battle between the dominant forces of the galaxy." The Sith had not drawn his lightsaber yet.

"Some believe we are destined to be locked in this war forever. But nothing great will come unless one side takes risks, wouldn't you agree?"

He closed the gap with a final few steps. Revan had positioned himself in his customary fighting stance, waiting for his opponent to make the first move.

"I should thank you Jedi. You have been a welcome distraction to the tedium of waiting for more prey."

The Sith straightened to his full height, almost a head taller than Revan. "Before we begin," said the Sith. "I believe proper introductions are in order. It is only proper that you know your killer's name."

He gave a deep bow, his hands outstretched.

"I am Darth Mreth, Master of the Talon Cult, Lord Hellstorm and Inheritor to the Sea of Strife." He raised his arms carefully as if sculpting a statue. "And I have come to end your existence."

The cave flared in a sudden storm of incandescent purple light.


	13. Chapter 13 The Judgement

_._

_._

_For the Jedi_

_For the Republic_

_For its people_

_._

_._

_-incomplete fragment_

_

* * *

_

If Ailene thought the light show in the previous room was bright, then her opinion abruptly changed with the sudden supernova coming from the cave. It suddenly seemed like a purple sun had manifested in the other room. Great thunderclaps and lighting snaked out in all directions, some leeching out beyond the cave door. The tendrils struck solid rock, reducing it to molten slag. Ailene ducked as a particularly large bolt struck the wall left of her.

She tried to call out Revan's name, but her voice was lost in the din.

* * *

Darth Mreth was a Master of his craft, a being of pure malice given form. His inner hate was channeled through the conduit of his hands as it was released in a torrent of lightning and thunder throughout the room. Equipment, rock formations, even the metal throne became useless materials as the maelstrom covered the entire cave. In the center of this carnage was the Sith diverting all his energy to wiping the Jedi from the plane of the living.

Opposing him was the Jedi Knight.

It is a said that the power behind the Force summoned was a manifestation of one's will. In the titanic struggle, neither opponent's will was lacking. Revan had been brought to one knee initially despite being ready to receive the onslaught, but he gradually clawed his way back to a standing position. His left hand was outstretched to deflect the unrelenting barrage of energy. His defiant form was proof against the storm, a lone tower that resisted the nature of elements. Lighting broke before him like water before a ship.

Several agonizing seconds passed before it became clear to Darth Mreth that he would not dispose of the foe in his most customary fashion. The storm rescinded as quickly as it started. The cave was an utter mess, still red and glowing from the destructions. Light flickered erratically from the remaining lamps.

"Impressive." The Sith drawled. "Very impressive."

He reached into his robes then drew out his lightsaber, a thin piece of metal with a clawed tip.

Wasting no time in further ritual, he glided unerringly towards his target. Revan raised his lightsaber in to block as the Sith Lord's blade descended like a bolt of lightning from the sky.

The first clash of blades was arm numbing, sending a hot shower of sparks across the room.

Revan's parry vibrated in his body from the impact, yet Mreth had only used one hand. His other had come to lash out at his neck like a grasping claw.

The Jedi leaned backwards barely avoiding having his own throat ripped off. The battle was in full motion now, the same deadly dance that had happened in the previous room. Both combatants were Masters of their blade, neither giving the other an advantage.

They danced in the dimness of the cave, Revan leading with his customary grace. The Sith Lord's movements were economic and precise like a machine, as if executing from a pre-defined set of instructions. He wasted no time in taunting or crying out oaths at his opponent like his subordinates. His breathing could be heard across the din of the lightsabers clashing, like a metallic beat to accompany their lethal harmony of sound.

The Sith Lord's strength was inhumanely powerful, certainly for someone of his frame. Revan had to maintain his tight two handed grip to ensure his lightsaber would not fly across the room from his opponent's latest blow. Eventually his defense would falter and the Sith could cut into him with ease. He decided to take the offensive.

Revan brought his blade in a brutal upswing followed by a side swipe. The first was dodged by his opponent while the second was deflected by his metal gauntlet. Sparks erupted and a shrieking noise was heard as the blade struck.

The same arm came to launch a punch into the Jedi's chest. Revan was actually launched clean into the air. He flipped in mid motion to land lightly on his feet and meet the Sith Lord as he advanced.

Circular swipes in all directions lashed down on the Jedi. A jarring right then left was executed as he spun which was followed by a downward strike. Revan deflected them all but the impacts were powerful enough to stagger him. He rolled to the side as another slash descended where he was a moment ago.

Mreth breathed rapidly as if finding the whole scene amusing. He thrust his lightsaber at his opponent aimed for the heart. Revan countered viciously, deflecting the blade by rolling it along the length of the enemy's and pitching forward at the Sith, his weapon outstretched. The blade caught him cleanly on the shoulder, but skidded, not penetrating.

Whatever augmentations were done to this Sith, it was proof against even the lightsaber.

The Sith responded with another hook from his left. This time, Revan was caught off guard. He landed heavily on his side. Shaking his head from the impact he looked up just in time to see the Sith come down and grab his throat, pinning him on the floor.

Mreth smiled behind his breather. "A good show," He said before slicing down at his victim's head. It was blocked by Revan's own blade, his arms outstretched from his prone form. His left hand grabbed the Sith Lord's strangling grip.

Both Jedi and Sith remained locked in this position for what seemed like an eternity, the red blade moving painfully closer to the target with each breath.

* * *

Ailene had mustered the nerve to climb out of her hiding place after the fireworks stopped. She heard the same crackling discharge of two blades shortly afterwards. Taking a deep breath, she tip toed closer to the cave mouth. When she arrived, Ailene saw Revan locked in a death struggle with a wraith like form. He was strangling the life out of Revan, while a blood red blade inched inexorably closer to his head.

"No" she whispered. Almost without conscious thought, she brought the pistol Revan gave her to bear. Unlocking the safety, she aimed with trembling hands at the Sith.

She fired.

The red beam hissed out striking the cave wall to the left of her intended target. Neither of the combatants seemed to notice. She adjusted her aim and fired again in rapid succession. The pistol barked out in malice. A few actually managed to strike the Sith's immobile form. He staggered slightly but did not falter in his grip.

Then a lucky shot. A bolt struck the Sith's sword hand. That finally broke the stalemate as his grip loosened. Revan batted the sword away and swung his blade back at the arm pinning him down. An angry hiss of metal and flesh was heard as the blade bit into the robed form. Again it did not penetrate but Mreth was sufficiently hurt to let go. He staggered back as Revan kicked from under him.

Launching himself upright, the Jedi swung his blade in a flurry of motion.

Mreth's sword hand was slack from the injury it sustained and he parried slowly. His glare was deadly with promise. Revan took advantage of his opponent's weakened guard. He hooked his blade in a screw motion against the Sith's blade and followed through to expose Mreth's hand.

Revan's counter slash liberated said hand from the wrist in a shower of sparks and black fluid.

For the first time, Mreth showed genuine emotion. He breather unit gave a peculiar sound between a snarl and static feedback.

Revan tried to press the attack but the Sith Lord's remaining hand stretched to deliver a scathing whip of lightning aimed at Revan's thrusting arm.

The Jedi lost his grip on his lightsaber, the Sith Lord's attack propelling it away like a rocket to stick firmly in the cavern wall. Undaunted Revan leapt and bodily tackled his opponent to the floor. Mreth took the brunt of the impact while trying to claw at Revan's face with his one good hand.

The grappled and exchanged blows on the floor like two brawlers in a pit fight. The Jedi launched blow after blow at Mreth's relatively unprotected face while the Sith focused on getting a stranglehold on his assailant.

Finally Mreth's free hand found Revan's neck again. His prodigious strength caused Revan to gasp in pain. The Sith tried to launch his back into the air but the Jedi, unwilling to lose such an advantage clung onto the Sith's neck defiantly.

Undeterred, Revan's own arms grabbed the cables attached to the Sith's breathing apparatus. He pulled savagely, unhooking coils and discharging black mucus all over the floor.

Mreth was struggling frantically now. He release his one handed grip from Revan's neck and focused all his hate and rage into releasing his coiled energy into the enemy.

Revan's struggling form was suddenly alight in dark lightning. Ailene heard him curse in pain. His left hand still gripped Mreth's neck but his right had lifted into the air as if searching for something.

Her line of sight traveled in the direction his hand was pointed. His discarded lightsaber was rattling in the wall, desperate to free itself. With his attention dedicated to surviving the next few seconds from Mreth's attack, he could not summon enough will to dislodge the weapon. Ailene scrambled across the cavern reaching the lightsaber. She added her strength to Revan's invisible pull with all her might.

Bit by agonizing but the lightsaber began to come out.

Revan's cloak was smoking from the unrelenting barrage. Soon it would be his flesh.

With a final gasp, Ailene gave one more desperate pull.

Suddenly the lightsaber shot out from its trapped position, liberating a fair amount of rock from the wall. It veered unerringly towards Revn's outstretched hand.

Like a glorious torch of light, the lightsaber ignited in a bright blue beam, the Jedi ready to pronounce final judgment.

The Sith Lord let out a scream of defiance and hate, the sound brutal and artificial. He saw something then, as Revan focused all his energy for the pivotal strike, a moment's clarity that seemed to uplift the veil around Revan that kept him so hidden.

He saw…he saw…

"For the Jedi." Revan snarled.

He rammed his lightsaber down like an executioner's guillotine, straight into Mreth's skull.

The Sith Lord jerk spasmodically his hand falling uselessly to the side.

"For the Republic." Revan twisted the blade out of the skull. The Sith Lord's body shuddered.

"For its people." He intoned before swiping his blade to severe the Sith Lord's neck from his body.

* * *

A sudden silence descended upon the room as the Sith Lord finally expired from his death throes. Ailene realized she had stopped breathing for the last few seconds and she let out all her air in a huge gasp. Standing up from her position she walked cautiously to the scene of the carnage.

Revan's form was kneeling over his latest kill. His shoulders were moving in a ragged motion as he breathed heavily after the exertion of battle. His robes were torn and burnt and Ailene could see he was bleeding from a dozen cuts to his person.

Ailene crept up to him putting a hand on his shoulder. She felt an intense heat on her hand, the residual energy from the Sith Lord's onslaught.

"Is it over?" she asked.

Revan turned slowly to face her. His face was covered in bruises and blood but underneath she could see him give her one of his small smiles.

"It is." He struggled to raise himself from his position. Ailene helped him gain balance as he came to stand shakily on his feet.

He looked at her now and Ailene saw an expression that she could not entirely place.

"You saved me equerry." Revan's tone was soft and reverent.

Ailene fidgeted nervously, uncomfortable with the praise. "Actually I'm pretty sure you saved us all sir. And you gave that pistol to me, so really you just saved yourself."

Revan laughed then, the sound pained but not without merriment.

"I thought," he said, "humility was supposed to be a trait of the Jedi. The galaxy always teaches me the error of that way of thinking."

He placed his hand on her shoulder for support. For some reason it made her feel safe.

"Thank you Ailene." He bowed his head at her. "If there is one thing I did right on this mission, it was to put my faith in you."

"Oh" Ailene said with her customary awkwardness. "…You could always buy me something."

Revan laughed.


	14. Chapter 14 The Rescue

Revan and Ailene walked to the end of the cave where a large metal door was drilled into the surface wall. A console to the left blinked erratically.

"This must be where the Jedi are being held prisoner" said Revan. He looked at the console and frowned, seeing that it would not respond to any input.

"Why were they kept here?" Ailene wondered aloud.

"I suspect they would not risk them being confined with the rest of the prisoners. In case, the mercenaries became too…enthusiastic. Or maybe they just wanted to torture them themselves." Revan tones showed his disgust at the Sith's moral depravity.

"How do we open it? The Twi'lek…she's too busy being dead."

"Like this," said Revan. He raised his lightsaber and thrust it towards the door. A large hissing sound emanated as his blade plunged in, the material gradually yielding to the blade's hot touch. He traced a rough outline for the entire door, metal melting into the ground as he proceeded. When he covered the entire door he stepped to the side.

"Stay back," he bade Ailene who stepped hastily to the side with Revan. The Jedi made a rough gesture and the door came flying out of its confinement, screeching in protest at the sudden rude motion.

Both individuals turned to look at the wound in the wall. In the dimness of the cave, nothing was immediately visible. Ailene could see a faint red light from the roof of the room but nothing else. Carefully, Revan walked into the room with Ailene following behind his back.

They walked into a scene of horror. Ailene was immediately reminded of the carnage in the prison cells.

Blood was thick in the air. She smelled intoxicants, smoke and…waste permeating the room like a disease. Whatever had occurred here it was clear, that Vreeshar and Excrutiatus had not bothered to keep a state of sterility.

Ailene nearly bumped into Revan who had stopped walking. He was looking at two metal tables before him.

The Jedi prisoners lay before them.

To their right was a young human although with all the blood on his face, it was difficult to determine the exact age. His body was a parade of torn clothing and scars each of various ages. Some of them seemed to be hastily cauterized although new ones still pumped out blood to drip into the side of the table. A low moan emanated from his lips, just below the hearing pitch. It seemed he had been screaming all this time, but after his strength had left, he was a reduced to a hollow whistle through his bloody mouth. His breathing was rapid and shallow.

The stench emanating from him was horrible, like a corpse at the very last stages of decay.

_Except he's still alive…how can that be possible_ thought Ailene in horror. By rights he should have expired but the Sith were nothing if not meticulous in their torture. A combination of precision cuts and chemicals had ensured the poor soul would continue breathing if not exactly with life.

If the boy was in dire shape, then his Master was in his own particular level of hell. He was completely naked, stripped even of the dignity of a loin cloth. The Jedi Master was a Zabrak although with all the blood covering his body it was not clear what his natural skin color was. Needles and various other implements of torture covered his body like a macabre tattoo. Some of the equipment had been ripped out, although from his captors or himself it was not clear. A ragged hole was drilled in his chest with cables snaking into it. The functionality of this was not immediately evident.

Revan walked swiftly to the pair with Ailene in tow. He checked on the boy first taking out various instruments and a case from his cloak. His hands touched the boy's forehead and shone a tiny light into his pupils, while Ailene looked on nervously.

"Third degree burns, multiple incisions to the pectorals, abdomen, and biceps, fractures and hemorrhaging…he looks like he's had multiple seizures and asphyxiation." He looked grimly at the boy's half crazed expression.

"Will he be alright?" asked Ailene. She didn't sound very confident of the answer.

"Some of his wounds are necrotic…the first stages of muscle death are evident." Revan expression was somewhere between distress and cold fury. He pulled out a syringe from the case he laid out and jabbed it into the boy's neck. The padawan's expression seemed less pained and his eyes closed as Revan mercifully put him into a deep slumber.

Revan turned back to Ailene. She could see his normal reticent expression was gone. He was holding on the verge of his control to see his colleagues so abused.

"I think he'll live, if we can get him back to the city soon…but some wounds cannot be healed by even the Republic's medical expertise. This will require another Master's attention." He sounded skeptical that the boy would ever be fit for Jedi Knighthood now.

His focus turned to the second hostage and Ailene could tell immediately that Revan didn't think the Master would live to see the next few hours, much less the next few days. Evidently Vreeshar and Excrutiatus had not been held on their leashes enough. Their torture had ensured that the Jedi would not leave this room despite the previous threats from their Master.

"This…will not stand" said Revan. Ailene put a comforting hand on his shoulder this time but he did not seem to notice.

With almost gentle reverence Revan placed a hand on the Master's forhead, wiping some of the blood away. He began to dab gently at his face with an anti-sceptic cloth. At the touch, the Zabrak's eyes opened…one of them opened, the left was simply a bloody gaping hole where the eye should have been.

"Master?" said Revan softly.

"W-who is it? Your voice…You…are..not my captors…I can't see you."

"Your captors are dead Master. I've come from our order to rescue you." Revan's voice was held an optimistic tone hiding the fact that the Master didn't have long to live.

"Th-thank you then. It is good to see…that the Jedi have dealt with…this…atrocity."

He turned his sightless eye towards Revan. "Might…I know … your name."

Revan hesitated as if not knowing what answer to give him. "I am Revan, Master Vel'shar" he said respectfully.

"Revan…I…I've heard of that name before. Vandar…he spoke of you to…m-me." Vel'shar mouth twisted into what looked like a smile.

"He…he called you…the Prodigal Knight." A painful gasp came rushing up his lips. Revan placed a soothing hand on his shoulder.

"I-I..can see that…he was…not…exaggerating."

"I will thank him for saying that the next time we meet Master," said Revan. "We must get you and your padawan out now."

Vel'shar gave him a sad smile. "Do-do not bother with me young one…I know…that I am not long for this existence. The Force will claim me…as it does all things."

"You must not give up hope Master. I was sent to rescue you and I mean to do so." Revan's voice held the tiniest trace of cracking. Ailene felt a lump in her throat as tears threatened to emerge from her eyes.

"Y-you are kind to say so Revan…" Vel'shar looked like he remembered something suddenly.

"Is..is my padawan…will he..?"

"Your padawan will live Master." Said Revan confidently. "He is a credit to your tutelage, surviving the horrors that he did."

Vel'shar smiled and closed his eye again, contentment coming to his face at last. "Then..then I have not failed completely…my legacy will live on."

He looked at Revan again his voice serious. "Th-these Sith…I have never seen…their like…savage even…by the standards…of their own kind. They…wanted to ferry us away…for something…but I know not what."

"Their plans have been destroyed Master. They wanted to use the Jedi for their sick experiments for augmenting their decrepit warriors. It will not happen." Revan wiped some of the blood away from the Master's battered mouth.

"Those three…were there more?"

"They were part of a larger group…from the Unknown Regions." Revan said grimly. "I admit that the likelihood of more coming is…almost a certainty."

Vel'shar's grimaced at the thought, also from the pain.

"Then…the Jedi must be ready…the Repbulic must be ready for their...arrival. We cannot…let their kind return the galaxy into darkness."

"You have my word Master" said Revan solemnly. "The Jedi will stand firm against the tide. The Masters will be briefed fully. I will not allow this travesty to continue any further than it has to."

"Then…I can die…in peace." Said Vel'shar softly. "He struggled to raise his right hand, which Revan palmed in both of his.

"Help…my padawan…make him…better than me."

"On my honor"

Vel'shar closed his eye and smiled serenely. All the pain and horror seemed to melt away at the moment. With a final light breath, Master Vel'Shar, Jedi Master of the Order and defender of the Republic died in the dark abandoned room.

The only two people to witness it were an equerry and a Jedi Knight.

Revan knelt beside the corpse of the Jedi Master, his head bowed on top of the fallen warrior. He did not move for a long time. Ailene crept up and kneeled next to him. They did not speak. There was nothing that needed to be said.

She put her own head on the blood stained table and began to weep.

* * *

The next few hours passed like a dream.

Ailene was dimly aware of being gently pried from the metal table by Revan's guiding hand. Even though she had only met the Jedi Master briefly, she felt his death as keenly as one of her own kin. She could almost sense the moment that Vel'shar's spirit left their presence.

Revan bandaged the padawan as best he could with the supplied he had. He ripped the torn vestements from his chest and applied healing agents from his case before wrapping them tightly with sanitized cloth. Ailene noticed he briefly held his hands over the wounds before wrapping them up. The wounds seemed to close slightly but that could have been her imagination.

She helped Revan clean the fallen Master's body using what water they had left in their packs. Both of them carefully took out the various implements of death that abused his body. The snaking coiled tubes in his chest were also cut out with Revan's lightsaber. They were attached to his lungs in a macabre and complicated interweave of needles and clawed wires and it took them a long time to properly unhook these vile tools. When they were done, the Master looked almost clean. They wrapped him in one of the blankets they carried. Revan went to search the rooms for any valuables left. He made a show of looking at the back rooms, the cave and any crevices they did not look at. In the end he returned with some datapads and two discarded lightsabers.

"Follow me. We'll take them to the landing pad first."

Revan carried the Master's fallen body while Ailene saddled the boy. He was so light now that he couldn't have weighed more than a boy half his age. Together they walked the now lifeless corridors although frequently they came by the corpses that Revan had disposed of in his earlier onslaught throughout the complex. The landing pad was on the ground floor at the other side of the complex from which they came. It was dawn now, the sun rising up to meet them in a reassuring haze of light.

They arrived to see four carrier ships still docked at the landing site. The hatches were all open as if hastily abandoned from the previous night.

They picked the nearest one and walked up the platform. After some inspection, Revan pronounced the aircraft sufficient for carrying them and the prisoners back to the city.

"Let's go back for the prisoners" said Revan.

They walked slowly back to the lower levels of the complex, where the horror had started. The prisoners were still in their various cataconic states, unwilling or uncapable of trying to escape their torture cells. Revan broke each of the office doors to the rooms acting as the prison cells. Many of the prisoner's it turned out had not survived the punishment of their confinement although the majority still lived in some sense of the word.

Revan and Ailene escorted the various prisoners out of their cells uttering soothing words to those too frightened to leave their cells, thinking that it was some sort of trap. Others leapt at their saviors sobbing at their feet, too relieved to question this fortuitous change in events. Individuals from all species across the galaxy were present surrounding Ailene and the Jedi after their liberation. The prisoners that were not too disabled supported the ones that could not help themselves.

They had tears in their eyes, some hailing the pair as heroes of the Republic. Other's asked them why it had taken so long for help to arrive, cursing their misfortune at being left to die in the miserable hellhole.

Revan raised one of his hands for attention. Despite the clangor, the crowd was silenced quickly, everyone curious to hear what the Jedi had to say.

"My fellow equals," he said softly. "Words cannot describe the tragedy that you have all suffered at the hands of these vermin. They wanted to break you. To leave you less than what you once were. They were not successful." He had raised his voice now, gaining strength from conviction. The others listened enraptured.

"You're defiance in the face of audacity is living proof that the Republic was built on the foundation of inner strength, perseverance and most importantly faith. Faith in fairness, each other and in the belief that there are guardians out there that watch out for the Republic's people, that even in the darkest corners, you will not be forgotten." His voice became a beacon now to everyone in the room.

"All of you are the reason why brave souls like the equerry here" Revan gestured to Ailene "are willing to risk their own person to ensure that the Republic continues to survive in the face of adversity. Know that while one of you still draws breath, the Republic will not fall."

Revan punched into the air with his lightsaber, ignited to the awe of everyone in the crowd. Some of the people knelt in sudden reverence.

"In your name, the Republic endures. Let no foe tell you otherwise!" Revan shouted. He raised his lightsaber up higher.

"For the Republic!"

"For the Republic! For Chiron!" the crowd shouted. The followed the Jedi's example in whooping and thrusting their hands in the air. Everyone cheered at the dramatic display, their pain and worries forgotten.

At the back of the crowd, Ailene smiled at the display, beginning to believe not everything was as bleak as she thought it was.

* * *

_Author's note:  
_

_In case anyone is wondering, you can find a portrait of Revan at deviantArt: type in rogermein1 then dot then deviantart then dot then com.  
_


	15. Chapter 15 The Return

It was in the late morning when the former prisoners had been herded into the transport craft that Revan had prepped to take them back to the city. Before the aircraft disembarked, Revan had left to retrieve Kreen from the upper levels of the complex. He unceremoniously dumped the mercenary commander's limp body into a corner of the hangar bay. Kreen was still unconscious, though Ailene suspected Revan had just knocked him out again after finding him. He was clearly in no mood to deal with the commander right now.

The mercenary's transport came to land at the main gates of the city of Chiron. Revan had sent a message forewarning their arrival and a tight formation of guards had collected to receive them. At the forefront was Kesslar, head of security. Ailene and Revan disembarked the aircraft together, walking slowly towards the guards. Kesslar saluted the pair as they came to stand in front of them. Revan nodded without humor.

"I think congratulations are in order sir" Kesslar remarked. The expressions on Revan and Ailene told him otherwise though and he shifted uncomfortably.

"We need to get all the hostages on the craft to the infirmary as soon as possible." Said Revan without preamble. "There are also bodies that needed to be cremated."

"Of course" said Kesslar. "your wounds-"

"Are not major" replied Revan. "I have a fellow member of my order though that needs critical medical attention." He gestured upwards to the craft.

"The Jedi Master?" Kesslar asked

"He is dead." Revan's tone of finality suddenly made the fact become reality. The Republic could ill afford to lose warriors of that caliber in this time of uncertainty.

"His apprentice lives though, but only just. Time is of the essence." Kesslar nodded quickly and moved to enter the hangar bay.

"Also one more thing." Revan whispered something into the Kesslar's ear. His expression darkened at the words.

"I'll get right on it." Kesslar saluted again and ordered his men to follow him up the craft.

Revan looked grimly at Ailene. "We'll need to assemble all the members of the previous meeting. They're going to want to hear this."

Ailene nodded and rushed off to set up the meeting.

* * *

It was a few hours later that all of the governor's confidants were assembled in his office. A few people Ailene didn't recognize were also present. The whole scene looked very chaotic.

Kesslar and Tarken were to either side of the governor. A myriad of diplomats and counselors flanked them on either side.

Pavel Soth, the councilor at the back with governor Chiel called everyone to attention when Revan entered the room. He had not changed his clothing since arriving back at the city and looked half a corpse himself with his tattered cloak and grime collected on his person.

Ailene saw that Revan was scowling, his humors still foul from the previous night.

Chiel rose to his feet at the Jedi's approach.

"Ambassador" he began, "on behalf of the city of Chiron, we would like to extend our gratitude in liberating the city from those filth and allowing trade routes to be re-established." Almost as an afterthought he added

"and rescuing our civilians."

Everyone gave general applause at the Jedi before them. Revan nodded stiffly although Ailene knew he could care less about this right now.

When the applause died down the Jedi responded. "You can thank me governor, by giving due credit to the equerry over there." He nodded to Ailene who stood to the side of the office.

"Her courage ensured the success of this mission. If not for her, I would not be standing before you right now." Ailene knew she was blushing furiously at the words. Everyone turned to stare at her.

"I knew she would be up to the task" replied the governor unabashedly taking part of the glory in assigning her to the Jedi.

"I'm sure," said Revan sardonically. "Nevertheless, I think a promotion is in order don't you?"

Chiel clearly didn't see this as a particularly good idea. "Ailene is a fine equerry, but she is young and-"

"More capable than your lickspittles-" cut in Revan sharply. "I think it's time that you gave her a position more suited to her talents. Chiron's primary diplomat for example."

Ailene gasped at the words. Being a diplomat, meant she would be offworld most of the time, being able to see the different wonders of the galaxy, attending great festivals in exotic places. Good food, entertainment…Sure there was still the tedium of meetings and politics but it was a far cry from being the governor's lackey.

_I wouldn't even have to maintain my own wardrobe or cook my own meals _she thought happily.

The governor shifted uncomfortably put into the corner like this. "I will consider-"

"You will give me your word governor" said Revan. His voice had that same unpleasant undertone again that made Chiel squirm the first time they had met.

Revan took on a more conciliatory tone then, not wishing to browbeat the governor any more than he had to. "Ailene is a proven advisor. She has intimate knowledge of your financial situation and workings of the city. I can assure you governor, her talents will go a long way to making your world more prosperous than you could possibly imagine."

Chiel's toadlike features lit up at the thought.

"Yes of course, I see now the wisdom in your words." He turned to Ailene

"Equerry, you're hereby promoted. I'll have Pavel complete the paperwork shortly."

"Thank you governor" said Ailene dipping into a quick bow. She could barely contain her excitement. This would be the first time offworld in her entire lifetime. She caught Revan's eye at that moment and she beamed at him.

Revan gave a half nod before turning back to the governor.

"Kesslar here has informed me that you wiped out all the mercenaries in your attack the previous night and many of the civilians have been recovered." General murmurs of approval followed this.

"Did you find out what the pirates wanted the civilians and Jedi for? Slaves for the Hutts perhaps?"

"They were outbound for to various locations. They would have been sold on the black market to the highest bidder as slaves for labor, sex, fodder…I'm sure you get the picture."

Ailene was confused at his words. While the slave part was probably true, Revan had completely left out the Sith and their presence on this world. Although she wanted to say something, she trusted Revan enough to follow his lead.

His answer apparently satisfied Chiel though who gave a sagging sigh of relief that the worst was over and thinking he could back to the business of actually making money.

"Now, I'm sure you would like to get some time to rest and perhaps take a tour of-" Chiel stopped in mid sentence again when Revan held up his hands.

"With respect governor, we have one more outstanding issue to discuss" Everyone looked at him curiously, wondering what he meant.

"You have a traitor in your ranks" said Revan grimly.

Everyone burst into a cacophony of noise and arguments. Some immediately dismissed the accusations as baseless while others shouted over each other to demand the name of this person. Kesslar shouted over the din for quiet which only added to the noise.

Revan waited until everyone decided to shut up and listen to the Jedi.

"Your city was betrayed by one of your own advisors" continued Revan. He glared back at the crowd each one of them shrinking back under his scrutiny. "This person bugged the transports so the raiders new exactly where to strike. He is complicit in the mercenary's crimes, and that carries the gravest penalty."

"Who is this person?" demanded Chiel "I'll have him strung up for treason! I'll –"

"You will do no such thing governor" replied Revan calmly. "Not the least reason being the Republic doesn't have the death penalty unless Chiron decided to rewrite their own laws."

The governor stopped his rant, a faint purplish tinge in his cheeks.

"Secondly, the person's crimes have caused the death of a Jedi." Revan's voice was cold with suppressed fury. Everyone in the room gave a collective gasp. Even though they knew the Jedi Master was killed, it was still hard for them to process.

"The traitor's fate will be decided by the Jedi Council."

Chiel looked like he was going to argue the point but thought better of it. As much as he claimed to look down at the Jedi, he had no wish to incur their wrath. If Revan was any measure of their order, then the whole planet would be wiped off the star charts if they came in force…not that they would do anything like that.

Eventually Pavel Soth spoke up.

"Ambassador, do you know the identity of this traitor…?"

"I do" Revan towards the crowd "This person may want to step forward to keep his dignity"

He waited a few seconds to see if someone would stand forward.

Nobody did.

Everyone exchanged worried glances not sure where this was going.

"No?" said Revan. "Very well" He pointed a hand at the crowd. Everyone looked at the individual he pointed to. Ailene gasped at Revan's accusation.

It was the chief Engineer Tarken.

"Tarken Erssavel, I name you traitor. You're actions have caused the destabilization of this planet as well as the death of my fellow member. You're life is hereby forfeit to the Jedi."

Everyone looked like they thought this was some sort of joke. Chiel looked at Revan like he was insane. Even Ailene could not believe Revan's words.

_What is he doing?_ thought Ailene frantically

Tarken had paled slightly at the accusation. He glared defiantly at the Jedi accuser.

"I don't know where you get your intel from Jedi, but I'd thank you not to make baseless accusations." He banged an angry fist on the governor's table.

"I told you my son was killed by pirate filth before like the ones that attacked us. The last thing I want is to help them!"

General murmurs of assent followed this line of argument.

Revan was not impressed with this outburst. "Do all engineers lie so badly? I told everyone in the meeting before that I would bring swift justice to these bastards. I showed Kesslar an oath swearing to protect the equerry here."

He gestured vaguely again in the direction of Ailene before pointing back at Tarken.

"I told no one except you and Ailene that Master Vel'shar was a friend of mine. That lie was only heard by you two." Revan glared daggers at Tarken who looked suitably less comfortable now.

"The commander of the mercenaries claimed I was here to avenge my friends. Now how would he know that I wonder?"

Tarken scowled. "Why wouldn't he assume he was your friend? You did butcher all of his men. Friends tend to do dramatic things when they lose each other." Even he didn't seem to believe those words.

"He said he didn't think I would be so literal about it." Said Revan coldly. "I killed a hundred of his men last night. I told you I meant to avenge the fallen Master a hundredfold. The commander clearly thought I meant to make good on that promise. Coincidence?"

Tarken looked like he was out of excuses. Everyone in the room had gone silent as the scene unfolded.

"You have no proof Jedi" Tarken whispered.

Revan smiled, which unnerved everyone there. "On the contrary, I have the best kind of proof."

He gestured towards Kesslar. "The prisoner, is he secure?"

Kesslar gave a stiff nod. "He is sir, the prisoner gave his name as Jorek Kreen, commander of the Blooded, his…former mercenary warband."

Everyone in the room gave a collective gasp. Tarken bowed his head in defeat.

Chiel looked bewildered. "You never said you collected prisoners-"

"I'm telling you now."

Revan looked back at the engineer without pity. "We can bring him up here and see what he has to say for himself. I'm sure he has no reason to lie now that any deal made is null and void."

Kesslar shook his head sadly. "There-There is no need for that sir. The commander, he corroborates your accusations. He named Tarken as his source."

There was a general angry outburst from the crowd. Some of the councilors looked ready to beat the old man to death. They were held back by Kesslar's warning glare.

"Do you have anything to say for yourself Tarken?" asked Chiel. For the first time, his haughty demeanor (relatively speaking) had dropped and he sounded angry, but also hurt. His inner circle had betrayed him.

"They-They said they would come after my family." Said Tarken slowly. He sounded a hundred years older.

"They contacted you because you were the communications specialist didn't they? They knew you had overall command of the communications array and had the technical expertise to disrupt the array to outlying worlds for help." Revan had stepped forward to look the traitor face to face.

Tarken didn't look up at his eyes but gave a small nod.

"They made you give the suggestion to the governor to send the distress signal straight to Coruscant, to the Jedi temple." It was not a question.

"Yes…" Tarken whispered.

"Why would you do this Tarken?" asked Pavel. He usually did not speak out of turn, but it was clear that he was just as surprised as everyone in the room. "What could they possibly offer you that would make you betray this world?"

"The commander…he reached me before his mercenaries arrived through the main channel to the array. Threatened to destroy the city and all its inhabitants if I didn't cooperate."

Tarken hung his head. "Said he would find my family…my wife and remaining kin. He would massacre them if I didn't keep this a secret. In-In return for doing what he said… he would ensure I wouldn't lose anybody I cared about…and even gave me small stipend in credits."

Kesslar looked at him, his voice curiously neutral. "That's why you asked me to move your family to a secure location. Away from the massacre." He clenched his fists.

Tarken didn't look at anything in particular as he continued. "We met once…so he could give me the tracking devices for the vehicles leaving the city. When I saw him…all I could think about was my boy…and how I didn't want to lose anybody to scum like him anymore."

He shrugged his shoulders in helpless defeat.

"I made a choice. I stand by it…but if you must know, I am truly sorry that it turned out this way."

He gestured towards the Jedi.

"I-I guess I'm glad that the Jedi here, was more than they could stomach...I hoped it would all go away after that." He gave a bitter chuckle.

"Apparently the Jedi are more resourceful than I give them credit for."

Revan was not amused at his words.

"You will be escorted to a confinement cell until I leave this world. Cooperate and your family will not be accused of being complicit in your crimes by association…I'm pretty sure I don't need to finish that line of reasoning."

Tarken nodded sadly. Revan gave a look at Kesslar who came forward to take Tarken by the shoulder.

"Chief, if you would follow me?" the head of security said. The pair trudged out of the room together.

After they had left, the crowd started to talk all at once again, asking each other the ramifications of losing their head engineer, their reputation etc. Revan let them sort it out by themselves. He walked up to Ailene who was looking sad. She felt bone tired, from the exertions and the discoveries that were made. In the end it was one of their own that caused all this destruction. She looked at Revan and thought belatedly he would need to find the Jedi's own traitor before things got out of hand.

"Ailene…I will be taking Milas to the site of their capture tomorrow…to bury Master Vel'shar where he had his final battle." He looked sad as he said the words.

"I would be honored…if you accompanied us."

Ailene was surprised. Jedi were a seclusive bunch by practice. She was pretty sure they usually didn't let outsiders participate in their own burial rituals. It occurred to her that Revan was bestowing a great honor in asking her to come with them.

"Of course Revan" she said sincerely.

Revan nodded and walked out the room to see to the preparations.

* * *

After getting a (deservedly) good night's rest, the three left in a bulky transport vehicle from the northern exit of the city. Revan drove the transport himself with Ailene at the front with him. Milas was at the back his head bowed in reverence and grief.

Ailene thought he looked a lot better. Most of the chemicals in his body had been flushed out and he recovered a great deal of his color. She was amazed that he had recovered so much in such as short time, but Jedi were a resilient bunch.

Milas' expression though told her that he had other wounds that would take a lot longer to heal. His haunted features looked like he replayed the events of their torture over and over again in his mind. Ailene had seen Revan talking to the padawan in the infirmary, exchanging quiet words. She never knew what he told him, but it seemed to calm the padawan down.

Ailene noticed Revan's cloak was also patched up. She could see where the holes had been mended, apparently fixed by Revan himself. It looked pretty much as good as new.

They traveled now through the breezy grasslands, the cool wind refreshing. Ailene thought the scenery never looked so beautiful as it did now.

Eventually they reached the coordinates where they had been ambushed. Milas looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here. Revan looked at him not unkindly and said. "Your master and you engaged in your final battle here, in defense of the city. It is only right and proper that he be buried in this place, where he stood in defiance to the enemy."

Milas looked away but Ailene saw him give a little nod.

Revan took wood out from the back of the transport. From there he began to make a funeral pyre for the Master. Ailene and Milas helped him with the effort, putting twigs and dry materials into the pyre. When they were done Revan reverently took Master Vel'shar's body out from the transport. He was dressed in the robes of his order, clean and presentable. His noble features had a look of contentment, a far cry from the rictus of pain when Revan and Ailene found him.

Revan placed the body on the pyre gently and stepped back. He said something then in a language that Ailene didn't recognize. Revan gestured over the Master's body, placing his hand over his chest. It looked like Ailene that he was conducting some sort of holy rite, consecrating his body for the purifying fire.

When Revan was done he stepped back and addressed the two bystanders. "Master Vel'shar," said Revan slowly "was a Jedi, a man sworn to the defense of the Republic and its inhabitants. He died discharging that duty, ensuring that the future of this world would carry on in prosperity."

Revan continued "His death was the noblest there was for any of our kind. Dying while doing his duty to his order and the Republic. No Jedi Knight can ask for more."

Ailene felt like she was going to cry again. She looked jerkily at Milas who seemed on the verge of doing the same thing.

"We are here, to honor Master Vel'shar's memory and his actions. Because of him, the Republic is a safer place. His loss will be felt keenly by all who knew him well."

Ailene and Milas bowed their heads reverently at these words.

"I stand here now to bestow one final honor to his memory. Master Vel'shar was a _Malak_ – a champion in one of the old tongues" Revan said "to this world."

"All Jedi will remember him in his final days. Fighting the great enemy to ensure their plans would not come to fruition."

Revan bowed his head then.

"In his name" he intoned solemnly

"In his name" Milas and Ailene repeated.

Revan stepped back to let Ailene and Milas speak in his memory. Ailene didn't really have much to say, only saying Chiron would never forget the sacrifice the Jedi made to protect the city and that she would ensure he would be remembered for generations to come. Revan and Milas nodded thankfully when she finished.

"We are honored by your words Ailene" said Revan. She blushed.

Revan turned back to Master Vel'shar's padawan.

"Milas?" Revan said softly.

Milas did not speak for many moments as if wrestling with what he wanted to say. Finally he stepped forward to address the other two.

"My Master…" he began "was often strict and…aloof when it came to interacting with other people. He was not…a people's person you might say." He laughed bitterly at something only he found funny. "I guess you could say he was like many would have come to expect from a Jedi Master. It was…something I tried to emulate even though I didn't always agree with his ways."

"But" Milas said after a pause. "my Master never faltered in the face of adversity. In doing what was right. When the…when the Sith came down on us…he fought them without hesitation despite the overwhelming odds. He fought with courage."

Tears streaked down his face now. Ailene knew she was sobbing as well.

"When I was struck down…I saw him leap towards my defense, ignoring all dangers to his person. He fell…trying to defend me." Milas shoulders shook. Revan put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"When we were taken…and tortured for their sick amusement" said Milas shakily "My Master never gave them the satisfaction of screaming or begging for mercy. It shames me to admit I could not follow his example."

"When we were alone…in that hellish place, he turned to me once and said 'Milas, remember what I taught you, there is no shame in feeling fear. It leads to the dark side, that is true, but it is how you overcome your fear which makes you a true Jedi Knight. Endure, survive and you shall see my words are true.'"

Milas looked away from everyone. "Those were the last words my Master said to me. It will be words I will remember forever."

Revan nodded respectfully after he was done. "Your Master spoke truly. While you survive, his legacy will live on. He will live on." Revan knelt to place his hands on his shoulders.

"Honor his memory Milas. Overcome these trials and tribulations, and you shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine." Ailene felt a faint shiver in her spine at the words.

Milas nodded looking into Revan's eyes. They both looked sorrowful.

Revan stood back up again. He gave Milas a nod. "It is time."

Milas took out his recovered lightsaber. He ignited it, a mournful blue to accompany the setting sun and thrust it into the pile of dried twigs. The wood began to hiss and crackle gradually igniting.

The three stood silently like three guardians over a sacred site as the flames leapt up towards the darkening sky.

Ailene felt incredibly sad, the weight of the words spoken ringing heavily in her heart. She heard the thin whistle of the wind around her, and it almost sounded melodic, like some song she could not place.

Revan and Milas stood together, a comforting hand placed on the padawan's shoulder.

The flames leapt higher gradually immolating the Master's entire form. Only a faint silhouette could be seen, his essence gradually becoming whole again with the Force.

They stayed long into the night watching as the final embers played out on the pyre, speaking softly to each other for comfort.

* * *

_Author's note: From what I've been told, the person who chose the title Malak was quite...arbitrary about it. I've decided to add my own version of the title which may become relevant later. Anyways if you wanted to see the image of Revan for this story go to_

_rogermein1 (dot) deviantart (dot) com.  
_


	16. Chapter 16 Epilogue

"I hope," said Revan "that you're impromptu promotion was not to inconvenient for you."

Ailene and Revan were sitting at the back of the speeder which was taking them back the hangar bay. Another pilot droid had the honor of escorting the heroes of Chiron to their destination though the droid neither knew or cared about the honor.

"I think I'll manage somehow" Ailene said with a laugh. Her life had changed almost overnight. New quarters had been assigned to her, with attendants and advisors. Her salary had almost quadrupled. She was planning to send her family a very nice bonus by the end of the month.

Revan had announced his intention to leave the following morning after the funeral despite Ailene's and other civilians pleas for him to stay and enjoy some of the sites. He had politely refused however, stating it was paramount that the Jedi Council be given a full debriefing.

Ailene had forcefully asked to escort him to the hangar bay at the very least. He accepted with good grace. The pair had left to general fanfare from the city, with many calling out their name. The prisoner Tarken and Milas had left for Revan's craft a few hours earlier, escorted discreetly by Kesslar and his guards.

They sat languidly now in the back seats of the speeder, chatting and feeling more relaxed than they had in a long time. Ailene talked about her family life and her hobbies, quite the opposite of the stilted conversation she had shared with Revan on the initial ride into the city.

"You never did mention that the…the Sith were behind all this," she remarked at one point.

"The civilians of Chiron have been through enough trauma with the mercenaries." Revan remarked. "The Sith are a matter for the Jedi Knights to handle. It is my intention that Chiron will never feel the Sith's blighted touch again." He scratched idly at some of his scars that were still healing.

"I guess its better the governor didn't know anyways…he'd probably have a heart attack if he knew how close his city was to financial ruin."

Revan smiled at the remark. Ailene felt a lot more comfortable around him now. Being together in life and death situations tended to remove any misgivings people had of each other.

Ailene purposely kept her mind occupied on talking about other things. As they got closer to their destination though she began to feel the same lump in her throat when they saw the Master die.

When they were at the funeral.

The transport reached the parking area of the hangar bay. They walked towards the long empty chamber towards Revan's starship.

"When will you be leaving on your first mission?" asked Revan as they walked the empty corridor. Their footfalls echoed through the chamber.

"As soon as I get a better idea how not to stick my foot in my mouth" said Ailene with a smile. "Apparently, it's insulting to other delegates when you're honest and open-minded."

Revan gave a soft laugh. "Diplomacy is like a battlefield. You wield your tongue like you would a sword. Secrecy and guile will serve you well in that arena." Revan gave her an encouraging nod.

"I have no doubt you will become more adept with your words than I will with my blade."

"I could hardly doubt your words anymore could I?" she said playfully.

They approached the starship with Kesslar standing at attention.

"Ambassador" he said formally. "The prisoner and Jedi have been moved into the ship and are secure. The dockmaster has informed me that all travel lanes are open and awaits your command to disengage the locking clamps."

"Thank you Lieutenant" said Revan formally. He put out his hand which Kesslar shook firmly. "It has been my honor to serve you and your city these past few days."

"You are too kind sir." Said Kesslar. His posture became less formal. "If I could speak freely?"

Revan nodded.

"You saved this city Revan" Kesslar said, addressing the other Jedi by his name for the first time. "You came, you saw, and you brought swift justice like you said you would."

Kesslar gave a broad grin.

"In all my years, I have never seen anything more inspiring than what you did to those mercenaries. Chiron will never forget it."

Revan gave a slight bow. "We all serve the Repbulic Kesslar. While men like you remain vigilante, the galaxy can withstand any hardship. Stay true to yourself and your station, and the Repbulic will be better for it."

Kesslar smiled and gave a sharp salute. "If you'll excuse me sir, I'll be returning to the city."

Revan nodded again and Kesslar turned to leave. He stopped for a moment next to the equerry. "I'll see you at the transport."

Ailene nodded and the lieutenant left.

It was only Revan and Ailene now standing at the mouth of the starship. Ailene knew this moment was coming. She had thought of a dozen things to say to make this less awkward. The thing she promised herself the most though was that she wasn't going to cry.

She really should stop making promises that she couldn't keep.

Ailene felt the tears in her eyes well as she tried to look up at Revan. In such a short time she had met a person that had changed her whole outlook on life, her very livelihood. He had saved her world and made sure that it would stay safe in all the years to come.

And now he was leaving.

She briefly thought about making some ridiculous excuse for her tears like she was having her period but that would probably have made it worse still.

Revan seemed to understand. He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You are a person of courage and integrity Ailene. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise." He lifted her chin to look at her. "I know you will do your station proud."

"Will-Will I ever see you again?" she asked between her shaking sobs.

"The galaxy is a large place" said Revan wistfully. "It is filled with pain and tragedy, but also with joy and wonder." He patted her shoulder comfortingly. "Whatever the future holds, know that the Jedi Knights are always vigilante, and will watch over you. Always."

Ailene nodded jerkily but could not respond for several moments.

"I have something for you."

She looked up in surprise at the words. Revan had unclasped his cloak. It was the same cloak he wore when they first met, when they had traveled to the complex and when they had laid the Jedi Master to rest.

"I didn't buy it exactly." He said with a slight smile. "but I hope you may accept it all the same."

Ailene took the cloak with trembling hands. It felt like the finest wool, soft and silky. The grey material seemed to shift and adjust to the contours of her hand.

"Revan – you can't-"

"I can" said Revan gently. "Take it as a sign of what I said just a few moments ago. Whenever you see it, I hope you will remember the Jedi fondly."

Ailene couldn't even describe the emotion she was feeling. She put it on immediately, feeling the soft touch of the cloak against her face.

"I'll wear it on every mission I go. It will be part of my official garment as my role as a diplomat" she said softly.

"I hardly think grey is a suitable color for a diplomat" Revan remarked dryly.

"Whoever disagrees can go *$#% themselves" said Ailene sharply. She was surprised by the force of her own words, blushing furiously after she heard them.

Revan laughed. He was getting ready to leave when Ailene waved her hands frantically. "Wait! Wait!"

She began unbuttoning her outer coat.

Revan looked with a raised eyebrow until she had managed to take herself of the pesky piece of clothing, no small feat with the cloak still on. Some of her…stuffing fell out but she didn't care.

"Please, take this" stammered Ailene. She shoved the equerry's uniform into Revan's hands. "I'm not going to be wearing it much longer anyways."

"And besides" she laughed awkwardly. "who needs that now that I have this" she patted her new cloak affectionately.

Revan looked at the coat with an unreadable expression. Eventually he turned to Ailene and bowed again. "I'll treasure this always" he said sincerely.

Ailene nodded jerkily. Before she lost her nerve she rushed up to Revan and embraced him. She gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Please be safe out there Revan."

Revan patted her back gently. "And you as well Ailene. For the Republic."

"For the Republic" Ailene whispered.

They separated. Revan gave her one last smile and walked up the ramp into his starship. The hatch closed as he entered, the interior gloom coming to embrace his form again. Suddenly he was gone, like a spirit back into the void.

Ailene watched as his shift slowly left the docking bay rising up like a graceful bird to fly up into the heavens. She stayed for many moments after the ship had left her view in the sky.

Eventually with extreme reluctance, she turned and walked back towards the corridor they came from. She stopped to pick up the objects that had fallen out of her person

before walking through the long empty hall, her grey cloak billowing softly in the wind.

* * *

"It was an…interesting meeting to say the least, wouldn't you say so Revan?" asked Vandar as he had hobbled slowly out of the council chamber.

Revan nodded, frowning at the outcome of meeting. He had entered the council chamber at the Jedi Temple of Coruscant with the prisoner and all the council members present. Vandar had asked most of the questions, with the other members looking on dispassionately.

Tarken had confessed everything about the mercenaries and his involvement, detailing how the communications had been disrupted and how they managed to ambush the various transports leaving the city. He left nothing out, knowing his best chance at leniency was to fully cooperate with the Jedi. After his confession he had been marched out by fellow Jedi escorts to a holding cell.

The discussion had then turned to the true menace that had orchestrated these whole events. At first the council members had listened with grave concern at the threat these Sith had posed. Revan made sure to point out that these Sith were not the usual vermin that plagued the Republic but savage and unpredictable individuals from a region everyone knew precious little about. The council had expressed their grief at the loss of a fellow Jedi member although Revan saw precious little of it on their faces.

It was not until Revan told them the Sith's intentions and how they were lured into the trap that the Jedi council became…intransigent.

"You are suggesting that one of the Jedi in this chamber betrayed the order" said a female warrior. She had bright silver hair and an unforgiving frown.

"I do" replied Revan unconcerned with her tone. "Unless the decision to send Jedi to that world was made outside of this body."

"The decision to send Jedi Knights was made with the utmost consideration of our resources and disposition. We do not risk our brethren lightly." A golden haired warrior with an equally foreboding presence.

"The Sith Lord was quite specific as to the method of their trap Masters" said Revan in a neutral tone. "He had no reason to lie to me."

"He had no reason to tell you the truth." Retorted another member. "For all we know he was simply goading you with a fanciful tale to taunt your presence in his domain."

"I had considered that." Said Revan "but the data I recovered made frequent references to the Talon cult and their associate's demands for resources soon."

Revan spread his hands out.

"This person's name was not included in the transcripts but the message was clear. If nothing else then their need for Jedi was true."

"We cannot know the full scope of the Sith's plans with a few discarded dataslates." Said the first female. "If you had left one of them alive, perhaps we could have ascertained the truth." Her face was dismissive.

"Until then, all we have are half truths and the words of a Sith Lord."

Revan said nothing but it was clear from his expression that at that moment he thought all the Masters were particularly stupid children.

"We do not call you a liar Revan" said Vandar soothingly. "But understand, we could not simply send more warriors to the Unknown Regions on a whim and vague evidence."

Vandar raised a placating hand. "We will discuss these matters in a closed session. Until then, you have the thanks of the council for executing this mission with such efficiency."

His words signaled the end of his contribution to the meeting. Revan bowed to the Masters and made to move for the exit.

From the corner of his eye, he caught a shadow that seemed to move slightly behind the pillars of the room. Revan looked a moment longer and walked out.

That had been almost an hour ago. Revan had waited that time outside the chamber until the council members left the room. Many Masters turned to look at him, some nodding, others with various expressions of contempt. Revan said nothing until he saw Vandar leave the council chamber, the last Master apparently to do so.

Coming back to the present Revan gave a thin sigh at Vandar's question.

"With respect Master, the Sith force is real. There will be more coming for retribution. I urge at the very least to send a standing force to guard Chiron from future danger. They will want to know what happened to their initials forces."

Vandar nodded. "That was one of the things we talked about. We are willing to send a token force into that region to ensure no mercenary activity resumes within that sector. Chiron should be given a chance to recover."

Revan nodded, knowing he couldn't ask for much more.

"I know you think the Jedi council…resistant to most of your advice Revan. It is our way to be slow and deliberate. We must consider the ramifications of all our moves. The Republic looks to us to show them the way."

"I can respect that Master." Said Revan. "However I urge you to send me to investigate these matters further."

"In time Revan, I suspect we will do just that." Said Vandar. "Until then, please, meditate and think upon the things you have seen. Steel your soul against the hardships you endured, and you will find peace."

Revan nodded. "By your leave Master, I will go check on the padawan." Milas had been placed in the care of the Jedi healers. Hopefully they could heal some of the wounds in his soul.

Vandar nodded. "Force be with you Revan." The Jedi Knight gave another bow and walked away down the halls of the Jedi Temple.

Vandar stood for a long time after Revan left. He suspected someone would want to talk to him.

A shadow descended over his tiny form.

"You believe his words." Came a cold and authoritative voice.

"Of course" said Vandar wearily. "When has Revan let us down?"

"All the more reason to do what I suggested before." His voice made it sound anything but a suggestion.

"It is…unheard of in our time." Said Vandar. "This thing you ask. The Jedi council at large do not even acknowledge its authority.

"This is a time of turbulence. Of betrayal." Said the other figure. He was tall and dark, with a foreboding presence. "Its need has never been greater."

Vandar still looked uneasy. "The council…will not vote in favor of this. They think Revan proud and headstrong…that his path will lead to damnation."

"They call Revan proud because he is cold to certain members of the council. I think he has good reason to be wary of them. As for being headstrong…that is a word they use when Revan discovers things they would rather he not know."

The gaunt figure walked slowly to face Vandar.

"The council does not have the authority here. The Lady…she has asked for Revan. Even the Jedi council is subservient to her will."

Vandar looked defeated by those words. "The Jedi…only a very precious few know of her. Some will deny her very existence."

"They cannot deny her will." Said the dark figure. He walked away then leaving Master Vandar to look at a gathering storm over the horizon of the Jedi temple.

* * *

_That's my first story regarding Revan's exploits. Depending on reader interest I may continue with another one. I'll just have to wait and see I suppose. Anyways user feedback is always appreciated. If you want to see a picture of Revan in this story go to_

_rogermein1 (dot) deviantart (dot) com  
_


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